SEATTLE — The Seattle Seahawks announced Wednesday that they will play the first three home games of the 2020 season without fans due to the pandemic.
Seattle is scheduled to host New England on Sunday Night Football in Week 2, Dallas in Week 3 and Minnesota in Week 5 at CenturyLink Field.
The next home game and the first that could potentially include fans is Nov. 1 against the San Francisco 49ers. Atlanta, which hosts the Seahawks in Week 1, has announced that there will not be fans in attendance for that game, while Seattle's Week 4 opponent, Miami, has not yet announced if fans will be allowed to attend.
“After careful consideration, we have made the difficult determination to play at least our first three home games (Sept. 20, Sept. 27 and Oct. 11) without fans in attendance,” the Seahawks said in a statement.
The team said in a release they will continue to follow public health and government officials’ guidelines about the decision to possibly have fans for the remaining five home games.
“While CenturyLink Field has become the best home field advantage in the league thanks to the energy and passion of the 12s, the health and safety of all of our fans, players and staff remains our top priority. While we are hopeful that conditions will improve as the season moves forward, we will continue to follow the lead of public health and government officials to make future decisions about having fans in attendance,” the team said.