NFL tells teams it expects fans at training camp, another sign of fans at Seahawks games
The NFL is telling teams they expect fans to be at training camp this summer.
It’s the latest sign of stadiums full of fans for Seahawks and everyone else’s games this season.
The league held a call with its 32 teams Tuesday. On it, an NFL executive vice president said he expects fans to return to training-camp practices, subject to the public-health guidelines of each team’s state and local governments.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported league executive vice president for club business and league events Peter O’Reilly told teams the NFL is still finalizing its training-camp protocols with the NFL Players’ Association, and “camps may look different in terms of proximity to players, autographs, etc.
“But with plans already in motion to have stadiums at 100% capacity, fans’ return to camp is another big step towards normality.”
Per the league collective bargaining agreement with its players, veterans can report to training camp no earlier than 15 days prior to a team’s first preseason game.
Seattle’s first preseason game is Aug. 14 at Las Vegas.
That makes Friday, July 30, a likely reporting day for training camp. The first practice fans could attend is likely to be Saturday, July 31, at the team’s training facility in Renton along Lake Washington.
Excluding last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, about 2,000 people each day have attended most of the Seahawks’ training-camp practices in recent years. Fans typically register online through the team’s website for bus passes. Buses transport them from remote parking lots to the team facility to watch the practices from the grass berm that overlooks the practice field’s on their east side. After those practices, fans have been encouraged to come down to the bottom of the berm to line up for autographs and pictures with players such as Russell Wilson, and sometimes visiting retired ones such as Kam Chancellor, who come over to them following the end of practice.
The Seahawks have yet to announce their plans for fans at 2021 training camp, specifically how many will attend and under what conditions.
Tuesday’s news of fans expected at training camps is another sign there will be fans in the stands at Lumen Field in Seattle in August, for two Saturday preseason games Aug. 21 at 7 pm against Denver and Aug. 28, at 7 pm versus the Los Angeles Chargers, plus in September through December for the 2021 regular season. The pandemic kept fans from attending any Seahawks home games during the 2020 season.
The Seahawks were one of 10 NFL teams to not have any fans in the stands for any of their home games during the 2020 season, because of COVID-19. Five of the 10 teams that had no fans attend games last year are based in the Pacific Time Zone.
The Seahawks have said “we are thrilled to be actively preparing to host fans at Lumen Field in the fall, including conducting our standard ticket sales process. We are continuing to work closely with the NFL, as well as local public health and government officials on planning for game day and will continue to follow all local guidelines for public sporting events.”
Those local guidelines are trending the right way in Seattle for Seahawks fans attending games this summer, fall and winter.
Major League Baseball’s Mariners and Major League Soccer’s Sounders have had about 9,000 fans, about 25% of their stadiums’ capacities, at their games in Seattle this spring. That’s been per King County, Washington state and their leagues’ approvals and policies.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said this spring his league is looking forward to a return of stadiums being full of fans this regular season.
The last time the Seahawks played in front of a home crowd was Dec. 29, 2019, a Sunday-night, regular-season finale against the San Francisco 49ers that was for that season’s NFC West championship.
Monday, the team held the first of 10 voluntary, organized team activities over the next few weeks on the field. The first OTA practice open to the media is Thursday.
Seattle’s other OTA practices are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday this week, then June 1, 3 and 4, and June 7-10.
The main intrigue of these no-contact, shorts-and-helmets drills this year is who is attending them. Wilson and other veteran Seahawks have said through the NFLPA they will only attend mandatory practices this offseason. The only mandatory practices for Seattle is a veteran minicamp scheduled for June 15-17.
This story was originally published May 25, 2021 at 2:06 PM.
