KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs President Mark Donovan said the team is confident in its safety protocols, but pleaded with fans who plan to attend events at Arrowhead Stadium to comply.
“We all have to be disciplined ...,” Donovan said Wednesday during a video conference with reporters. “We need a lot of cooperation from our fans.”
Donovan said he was impressed with how the fans adhered to guidelines — which were developed with input from local health officials — during a practice Aug. 22, which was open to 2,000 season ticket members, but the team also learned some important lessons.
The club will host another practice with 5,000 season ticket members on hand this Saturday, and some of those lessons will be put into practice.
“We’re going to try to learn how we can better enforce (mask-wearing in the seats) ...,” Donovan said.
He acknowledged that, while Arrowhead Stadium is an outdoor venue, the nature of fan behavior at games — especially the screaming and cheering — plays a role in the risk associated with attending a game.
The Chiefs plan to have more signs and more staff dedicated to reminding fans to put masks on, including some staff who will walk the aisles with signs.
“We have to do a lot more ... to continue to communicate and make people aware, even in your seats, you have to wear a mask,” Donovan said.
Donovan said the hope is that things do not become confrontational.
“We don’t want to be in a situation where we’re evicting someone or arresting someone, but we think we have enough systems in place to communicate that it’s about protecting everyone,” he said.
Both practice events serve as litmus tests for the Sept. 10 season opener against the Houston Texans, a Thursday night game that will be televised on 41 Action News.
The Chiefs are selling 16,000 tickets for that game.
