KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Garth Brooks is scheduled to take the stage at a sold-out Arrowhead Stadium concert Saturday, despite the danger of spreading the delta variant of COVID-19 across the Kansas City region.
More than 58,000 people are expected in Arrowhead Saturday night. Guests will have to abide by mask requirements in certain areas of the stadium and the state of Kansas' quarantine travel list will apply to some.
Here's what to know about the concert and COVID-19:
KANSAS QUARANTINE LIST
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment's travel quarantine list applies to those who attend "any out-of-state mass gatherings of 500 or more where individuals do not socially distance (6 feet) and wear a mask."
As a result of this guidance, people who go to the Garth Brooks concert and are not fully vaccinated will have to quarantine for seven days with a negative test result or 10 days without testing after the event if they go to Kansas.
Those who are fully vaccinated and are asymptomatic since the event will not have to quarantine. The guidance also exempts people who have had COVID-19 in the past six months and can prove it with a positive PCR or antigen test. They should also be asymptomatic after the event.
MASKS AT ARROWHEAD
Arrowhead announced Wednesday that they updated their safety policies in accordance with Kansas City's mask mandate. Guests will need to wear masks in enclosed public areas of the stadium unless they are eating or drinking.
Masks will be required in the following areas: the CommunityAmerica Club Level, the Ford Founder's Club, the Foolish Lounge, the Broadcast Lounge, the Signature Suite Lounge, the Locker Room Club and the Chiefs Pro Shop.
Unvaccinated staff members and those working in enclosed public areas will be wearing masks.
Masks will be given to guests who don't have one, the stadium said.
The city's mask mandate doesn't apply to outdoor spaces, although recent advisories from local public health officials say even vaccinated individuals should wear masks in crowded outdoor settings, or places where they will be in close contact to people who might not be fully vaccinated.
Besides the mask requirements, Arrowhead stadium has other measures to promote the safety of their guests.
High-touch areas are being sanitized before, during and after events with hospital grade disinfectants, the Arrowhead website says.
Hand sanitizer will be available in various points of the stadium for guests and staff members. For those who want to grab a bite at events, limited concessions are available with the option of contactless experiences such as self-checkout and order pickup.
To avoid direct contact, all concessions, retail points of sale and parking tollbooths are cashless.
VACCINATION EVENT
Mayor Quinton Lucas announced Wednesday that Kansas Citians attending the Garth Brooks concert this weekend have the chance to see the show from premium floor seats if they get vaccinated before the event.
The Kansas City Health Department plans to operate a mobile vaccination clinic at Arrowhead from3-7 p.m. in the parking lot according to a press release.
Only ticket-holders who receive the COVID-19 vaccine at that clinic will be entered into the raffle for better seats. The winner will receive two ticket upgrades to premium floor seats which are sponsored by Kansas City, the press release read.
GARTH BROOKS REASSESSING STADIUM TOUR
Garth Brooks is evaluating whether to continue his stadium tour due to the rising COVID-19 cases across the country. After his concerts in Kansas City and Lincoln, Nebraska, they will assess what to do with the remainder of the shows.
Brooks had already scheduled a three-week break after his Aug. 14 concert in Nebraska.
He mentioned the Kansas City concert during his weekly Inside Studio G Facebook live on Monday. Brooks asked his audience to follow all the rules and echoed the mask wearing sentiment since, "it's getting real sticky out there."
"Make your own rules up too," he said. "You can't be safe enough. You can't be cautious enough. Keep your space. Keep your distance."
He told his audience not to be afraid of wearing masks at the concert. Before every show Brooks plays a video asking guests to be respectful about masks.
"Nobody is going to look at you strange, I promise." Brooks said. "Wear your mask. Paint a G on it. Do whatever you want to do. Let's make it fun."
'CANCEL THE CONCERT?'
A Jackson County official earlier this week questioned whether Kansas City should just cancel the sold out Arrowhead show altogether.
"I was sitting here thinking that—why don't we just cancel the concert? We might save 10 [thousand] to 15,000 lives there, I don't know," Jackson County Legislator Ron Finley said in a meeting Monday.
The Jackson County legislature, however, cannot make that decision. Kansas City has jurisdiction over the event, Mariah Cox, a spokesperson for the Jackson County Health Department, wrote in an email.
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(The Star's Luke Nozicka contributed to this report.)
