Vikings to Play First Two Home Games of 2020 Season Without Fans

The Vikings are hoping to get fans back into U.S. Bank Stadium later in the season.

The Vikings won't have any fans at either of their first two home games, the team officially announced on Tuesday. That means games against the Packers (Week 1, September 13th), and Titans (Week 3, September 27th) will be played in front of an almost entirely empty U.S. Bank Stadium.

The team hopes to have fans allowed in the stadium later in the season, but that remains an unknown during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The Vikings released the following statement:

"Over the past several months, we have collaborated with U.S. Bank Stadium partners, the NFL, the State of Minnesota and the City of Minneapolis to determine the best way to safely and responsibly host a limited number of fans at Vikings home games. We have sought to balance the opportunity to provide fan access with the responsibility to adhere to public health and medical guidance in order to maintain the health and safety of fans, players, staff members and the broader community. Ultimately, public health is our top priority.

Based on our conversations and the current Minnesota Department of Health guidelines that specify an indoor venue capacity of 250, we have determined it is not the right time to welcome fans back to U.S. Bank Stadium. As a result, the first two Vikings home games on Sunday, Sept. 13, and Sunday, Sept. 27, will be closed to the public. We will continue to work with the appropriate officials on our plans with the hope of bringing fans back in a safe manner later this season."

The Vikings are just the latest of many teams across the NFL who have made the announcement that fans won't be allowed for at least the first few home games. This was an expected announcement, given recent comments from Mike Zimmer.

"Some stadiums, they're allowing people in, and it looks like we're not going to have any fans there early, which really stinks because we have such unbelievable fans, and they make that place rocking every Sunday," Zimmer said last Friday.

"I’ve always like felt like we’ve got great fans and we hope to get them back, but it is what it is, so we’ll go out and we’ll play and get ready to go," he said on Tuesday after the news had come out. "Hopefully they get back again sometime this year.’’ 

Zimmer recently criticized the fact that there will likely be inconsistencies in the presence of fans throughout the year, calling it a "competitive disadvantage" that some teams will be able to have home crowds and others won't. For example, it's possible that while the Vikings won't be able to have fans for the season opener against the Packers, there could be a crowd at Lambeau Field in Week 8. Zimmer said he was never consulted about the possibility of enacting a universal policy this season.

The Vikings have recently been pumping artificial crowd noise – which basically just sounds like white noise – through the speakers at training camp practices. They're going to practice at U.S. Bank Stadium on Friday to get some of their young players accustomed to the venue.

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