The Miami Dolphins don’t intend to allow more than 13,000 fans at Hard Rock Stadium, despite the go-ahead to fill it to capacity.
Florida has moved into Phase 3 of its reopening phase, which repealed the requirement that businesses operate at limited capacity amid the coronavirus pandemic. But Delphins CEO Tom Garfinkel told ESPN that the organization will continue with its comfort level, which is 20 percent of the 65,000 stadium capacity.
“We’ll continue to follow CDC guidelines and put everyone’s safety first and monitor things as they go,” Garfinkel said. “Right now with positivity rates where they are, we feel that we can keep people safe in a socially distanced environment, which is our 13,000 capacity.”
Garfinkel’s comments came the same day Florida surpassed 15,000 deaths from COVID-19 complications. In all, the state Department of Health reported 2,548 new cases, bringing the state total to 722,707.
Neither the Tampa Bay Buccaneers nor the Jacksonville Jaguars have announced increased capacity following the move into Phase 3. College programs also haven’t commented on any attendance changes.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is in favor of filling stadiums. He said last month that Tampa will welcome Super Bowl LV and the crowds it brings in February.
“We’re going to be able to host the Super Bowl in February. We expect to do a full Super Bowl,” DeSantis said. “We’re going to show that we’re going to be able to do that.”
