The Houston Texans announced Friday they will not have any fans in attendance for their NRG Stadium opener versus the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2.
Houston is slated to play their first home game of the season Sept. 20 against the reigning AFC North champions.
“We have made the difficult decision to not host fans at NRG Stadium in the month of September as we are committed to protecting the health and safety of our fans during these challenging times,” Texans President Jamey Rootes said in a statement. “Our fans provide the best homefield advantage in the NFL and we remain hopeful for their return to NRG Stadium once it is safe to do so.”
The Texans are looking at how the COVID-19 pandemic affects the greater Houston area, which is currently at the highest threat level, RED. The club will keep tabs on a variety of metrics and other factors, along with consulting with local health authorities, to determine whether it is safe to allow fans.
With the next home game slated for Week 4 versus the Minnesota Vikings, the Texans presumably will have more time to fine tune their game operations to make for both a safe and functional environment. Remember: the preseason was canceled. There are no rehearsals to get the protocols correct at NRG Stadium.
If the Texans decide to host fans at home games later in the year, season ticket holders who made the decision to opt-in for the season will receive instructions about the ticket-purchasing process at that time, the team says. All NFL and NFLPA protocols are subject to change on a game-by-game basis and the club says they are taking the “necessary adjustments” to play games with fans and have it be as safe as possible.
