Browns, Bengals Allowed 6,000 Fans for 2 Home Games amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced Saturday the state's two NFL teams, the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns, will be allowed 6,000 fans for two home games each in September and October amid the coronavirus pandemic.

DeWine posted his full statement on Twitter:

The NFL is allowing teams to make individual decisions about whether to allow spectators based on state and local COVID-19 guidelines. Some clubs will allow partial attendance to open the campaign, but no teams are fully opening their stadiums at the outset, per ESPN.

In August, Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott questioned the league's decision to allow some teams to play in front of fans while other stadiums are closed to spectators.

"I think it's honestly ridiculous that there will be, on the surface, what appears to be a playing field that's like that—inconsistently across the league with the different away stadiums," McDermott told reporters.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell downplayed that line of thinking Wednesday on CNBC's Squawk Alley, saying they "do not believe it's a competitive advantage" and will work to open more stadiums for attendance throughout the 2020 season.

"We're going to create a safe environment in our stadiums, and we're going to invite [fans] in whenever we can do that in a responsible and safe way," Goodell said.

The Bengals' Paul Brown Stadium has a standard capacity of 65,535, while the Browns' FirstEnergy Stadium holds 67,895. So both teams will play in front of around 60,000 fewer fans than normal.

Week 1 kicks off Thursday when the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs expect around 16,000 fans for the opener.