Fans in the stands

Last week, I wrote a letter to our governor asking him to allow fans into Petco Park for Opening Day. My argument for this is based on science and data. Numerous professional and collegiate sporting events have been taking place across our nation for many months.

College football and the National Football League both had successful seasons without any major COVID-19 incidents. The Superbowl was able to allow 22,000 fans into the stadium and cases continue to drop since the day of the game in Tampa Bay.

A recent study published by medRxiv looked at the impact of having fans in the stadiums for NFL and college football games. The purpose was to identify whether or not limited in-person attendance had an effect on COVID-19 cases.

The study came to the following conclusion, “(We) did not find an increase in COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the counties where NFL and NCAA games were held with in-person attendance. Our study suggests that NFL and NCAA football games hosted with limited in-person attendance do not cause a significant increase in local COVID-19 cases.”

Allowing fans back into Petco Park isn’t just for entertainment purposes either. Thousands of part-time jobs have been put on hold, restaurants surrounding the stadium have been decimated and San Diegans have been stuck at home for over a year.

With a 25% capacity, 10,611 San Diegans would be able to enjoy Opening Day on April 1, socially distanced and safely.

Allowing a small percentage of San Diegans to attend Padres games would be a major step in getting back to normal.