Three days after President Joe Biden urged entertainment venues and sports arenas to require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for entry, the Chiefs will pack more than 70,000 people into Arrowhead Stadium without those mandates in place.
Will they implement them for future home games?
Maybe. But they’re not making any guarantees.
The turnaround for Sunday’s season opener against the Browns is too tight to enact such a policy, Chiefs team president Mark Donovan said. But the organization will have conversations with several parties and then make a decision for the remainder of the season.
One of those parties has already made his stance clear. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson told The Star he plans to fight a Biden initiative, also announced Thursday, that mandates vaccination and testing for significant portions of the country’s employers. Donovan said he spoke with Parson on Friday while taking part in the team’s Red Friday festivities, adding, “I think he’s made his opinion known.”
When Biden made his remarks Thursday — “Please require folks to get vaccinated or show a negative test as a condition of entry,” he asked those running large entertainment and sports venues — the Chiefs were unveiling a new Hall of Honor display inside the stadium.
By the time he met with the media at 1 p.m. Friday, Donovan had already had preliminary discussions on the topic with Parson and league personnel, he said. The organization will seek further input from local health experts and authorities.
“We’ll take that into consideration,” Donovan said of Biden’s request. “We’ll have conversations with the experts here. I did have a conversation with our governor this morning — he was out with us for Red Friday. I think he’s made his opinion known. We’ll have to listen to that side as well.
“But our objective is the same objective that we had last year: How do we create a safe environment for our fans? We are not experts in the COVID space. We are not experts in the vaccination space or the testing space. So we’ll have to work with the experts on that.
“I will say this: As an organization, we fully support full vaccination. We think it’s the safest way for all of us, and we’ve promoted that.”
While NFL stadiums are opening to full capacity as teams open their seasons this weekend, organizations including the Seahawks, Raiders and Saints already have policies in place that mirror Biden’s request.
Arrowhead Stadium will require masks in any of the indoor spaces at Arrowhead, such as the club level and various suites located throughout the venue. Masks are not required while outdoors. A year ago, the Chiefs limited spectator capacity to 22%.
The Chiefs have nine regular-season home dates this fall. After Sunday’s opener, they will travel to Baltimore for Week 2 before returning home against the Chargers in Week 3, a game that’s scheduled for Sept. 26.
The Chiefs have previously opened Arrowhead Stadium as a vaccination site, including for the Garth Brooks concert there last month. After a low turnout, Donovan did not commit to repeating that for games, but rather said the organization will use its platform to promote getting the vaccine where it’s already being offered.
*story by The Kansas City Star
