While initially unsure how the pandemic would shake-out between the start of the year and the start of football season, the Bengals were ready to play games both with and without spectators in attendance.
In July, the team announced a series of rules to follow if fans were allowed in Paul Brown Stadium for games, including mandatory face coverings at all times unless you were actively eating or drinking, social distancing while moving about the stadium, no tailgating in the parking lots, greatly reduced capacity to accommodate physical distance between seating groups and more.
Now, it looks like they’ll be starting the season without having to worry about any of that because their home opener against the L.A. Chargers on Sunday, Sept. 13 will be played without an audience, based on the most recent orders from the State of Ohio.
“For several months, the Bengals have worked diligently with the NFL, with local governments and with experts in the health community to develop a plan to responsibly host fans during the 2020 NFL season at Paul Brown Stadium,” said Bengals Executive Vice President Katie Blackburn. “The Bengals filed a request for exemption seeking to have fans at games. The variance we requested has not been granted by the state at this time. While we want fans to attend our games, we accept and understand the State of Ohio’s position. We will monitor the situation moving forward and continue exploring whether fans may attend games as the season goes along.”
Blackburn says the team will do its best to communicate updates with fans and connect with them through bengals.com and social media, and will welcome them back to Paul Brown Stadium when the state allows it.
Season ticket-holders will be contacted about tickets for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
For more information, visit bengals.com.
This article appears in The Burger Issue 2020.