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NFL: Super Bowl 55 Attendance to Have 25K Fans and 30K Cutouts Amid COVID-19
February 2, 2021
The NFL will host 25,000 fans and have an additional 30,000 cutouts in the stands for Super Bowl LV.
The league made the announcement Tuesday. The game will be one of the largest outdoor events held in the United States since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tampa's Raymond James Stadium has a maximum capacity of 75,000 fans.
Fan attendance has been one of the most polarizing topics of this NFL season, with some teams welcoming thousands on a weekly basis and others not having attendance at all. Most teams followed the guidelines set by their individual state and/or city, with freedom to do so by the NFL.
Florida does not have an attendance limit for sporting events.
Provided social distancing and mask wearing, outdoor gatherings are generally considered safer than convening indoors.
The NFL's capacity limit for Super Bowl LV is likely an attempt to ensure the safety of fans by spacing out the blocks of tickets at least six feet apart, albeit with the knowledge that it's nearly impossible to stop some level of contact in a crowd of that size.
In December, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he was unsure whether there would be fan attendance at the game. Given the surprisingly high number of fans that will be at the game, it's clear the tone has shifted over the last two months.