KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It's a brand new season and there are some brand new rules at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Kansas City Chiefs will enact new safety protocols Saturday to help reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.
Saturday, Chiefs season ticket holders will get to see the team in action at Arrowhead during training camp.
Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department Director Dr. Rex Archer said it's basically a test-run for staff and stadium executives to see if their new safety protocols will work.
"Is it going to be 100% foolproof? No. Should folks that are high risk for this disease, for being hospitalized or worse or have family members at home that are in that situation — should they be attending? No, I would advise against it," Archer said.
Fans attending the game at Arrowhead will notice a lot of empty seats this season. Archer said limited capacity is all part of the plan.
"By taking it down to around 16,000 or so in the stadium instead of [73,000], then the crowding and turnover in the restrooms will be much less," Archer said.
Tickets will be sold in blocks of four to six people and those guests will have to sit in their assigned seats. That way, if someone tests positive for COVID-19, the Chiefs will know where they were sitting and warn the people who may have been exposed.
"Every third row will be totally empty then the other two rows they will stagger folks, so in one row, the four and six kind of group will be out farther towards the aisle, and the other [group] will be in a little closer," Archer said.
The seating arrangement will allow fans to access the aisles without crossing in front of other fans.
Masks will be required unless you're eating or drinking and security will be enforcing the rule.
Some parking lots will also be blocked to ensure that tailgaters have the appropriate amount of social distancing.
Fans will also need credit cards because concession stands will not accept cash.
While Arrowhead is opening to limited capacity this season, several other NFL stadiums will not be open to fans including Atlanta, Buffalo, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, and Las Vegas.
"There are places in the country where it's even worse than it is here. If we had four or five times as many positive cases here, I might have to reconsider this," Archer said.
Archer said he hopes people watching the Chiefs at home, indoors, will also take precautions to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.
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