Panthers owner David Tepper: NFL can play with ‘some fans’ in attendance this year
Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper is optimistic the NFL will play games this season — with fewer fans than usual.
Appearing on CNBC Wednesday, Tepper said he thinks there will be enough COVID-19 tests available by the fall to make sure that players are safe. And he thinks fans, in some towns, could be in the stands to watch.
“There should be some amount of fans in the stadiums,” Tepper said “depending on what locale and where you are and what the local rules are.
“There could possibly be.”
Tepper did suggest that fans may have to wear face coverings at games. But he felt if people were comfortable flying that the league should make plans for some level of fan attendance at games this fall.
“You won’t be having full stadiums,” Tepper said, “but that doesn’t mean you can’t have some fans in the stadium, either.”
Tepper’s comments came one day after the California State Schools decided to keep its 23 campuses “largely closed” for the fall semester, which could affect athletics . Those schools include Fresno State and San Jose State, which are FBS members in Division I football.
On Wednesday, a University of California spokesperson told CNN that he didn’t expect any of its campuses to fully re-open this fall. The University of California has 10 campuses in the state, including UCLA, Cal, San Francisco and Santa Barbara.
The NFL, which still hopes to have a full 17-week regular-season beginning this fall has three teams in California — the Chargers, the 49ers and the Rams. The league informed teams Wednesday that it would extend its virtual offseason until the end of May, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. It was originally scheduled to end Friday.
NFL insider Ian Rappaport said teams are preparing contingency plans for training camps in July, including using the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia as well as college sites and possibly relocating camps to Nevada and Arizona.
This story was originally published May 13, 2020 at 2:13 PM.
