When the Tennessee Titans play their home opener on September 20 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, which is Week 2 of the 2020 regular season, fans will not be in attendance for the game.
The team, along with Nashville Mayor John Cooper, announced on Tuesday that the game will be played without fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however the door is still open for fans to attend games later in the season.
“I can assure you of this: this virus will not deter us from our mission to bring you an exciting, competitive season of Titans football,” President and CEO Burke Nihill said. “We hope our fans can cheer us on in Nissan Stadium soon, and in the meantime, look forward to feeling everyone’s support and energy from home as we kick off the season with Monday Night Football, Sept. 14.”
In the meantime the Titans will continue to work on the “Titans Safe Stadium Plan” with local health officials.
The plan includes “mandatory face coverings, structured ingress and egress planning, socially-distant seating, contactless faucets, hand sanitizer stations throughout the stadium, individually-wrapped food and many other health and safety precautions.”
The Director and Chief Medical Officer of the Nashville Metro Public Health Department, Michael C. Caldwell MD MPH, says the Titans “have the right road map” to eventually open Nissan Stadium up to fans for home games.
“Though the time to open its gates isn’t quite here yet, the good news is that the Titans have the right road map,” Caldwell said. “I’m confident that the plan we created together is a careful, well-rounded design that will provide a large degree of protection for fans attending games in the hopefully near future. I know the team has made the necessary preparations to implement significant safety measures when the time comes.”
The Week 2 contest against the Jags is the only home game the Titans have in the opening month. Their next home game will take place on Sunday, October 4, in a Week 4 contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Of course, the Titans will open their regular season in Denver against the Broncos on September 14.
