Kickoffs With Covid — Pro Sporting Events Continue With COVID-19 Restrictions

Thousands of adoring fans scream as loud as they can to cheer on their team, the smell of barbecue still strong from the parking lot tailgates and the smell of popcorn even stronger. As the Chiefs scored, everyone in the stands jumped up and air high-fived — from six feet apart, of course.

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a large wrench in being able to go out and watch sports events live. The act of coming together to sit down in a stadium and watch your home team make a comeback is one of the things that makes football so enjoyable for people — something that is now barely possible. The Chiefs and Arrowhead Stadium are no exception. 

To meet the criteria for hosting a football game with fans present, Arrowhead had to alter several aspects of people attending games in order to allow any fans in. From seating arrangements, security, capacity, all the way to limiting where you can walk in the stadium — a lot has changed for Sunday night football.

Arrowhead Stadium can successfully accommodate 76,416 fans during the non-covid season to watch that ‘Mahomes magic’, and hopefully see the Chiefs win. However, in light of the pandemic Arrowhead is only allowing roughly 16,800 people in the stadium — that’s 22% of max capacity, a major step down from last year.

Junior Tommy Moreland attended the first game on Sept. 10. With all the alterations set in place, he was surprised by how different the stadium environment was.

“I knew it was gonna be weird going in, but once I got in there it was just weirder to see not near as many people and all masked up,” Moreland said. “They wouldn’t really let you go near other people and you could tell they were kinda watching you.” 

Upon entering the stadium, there are now two security officers watching your section to ensure you and others around you are abiding by the guidelines set in place to keep everyone safe, Moreland explained. 

Despite the many changes, Moreland still thinks that the hype and powerful cheering that Arrowhead is known for stayed the same. Even with the lack in numbers, there wasn’t a moment where the fans or players failed to give it their all both in the stands and on the field.

“During a big play it was actually pretty loud,” Moreland said. “If I closed my eyes I would’ve expected there to be way more people than there actually was.” 

Despite the glaring differences in experience when it comes to attending sports events in KC, the fun of being able to sit down with the family and watch a heated competition between two talented teams has yet to be taken away completely by this pandemic. As the season goes on, fans are excited to see what new memories will come out of this new way of watching sports.