NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) —The Tennessee Titans and Nashville SC, both pro teams in Nashville. will begin their seasons without fans at Nissan Stadium.
This will continue through at least September, Nashville leaders said Tuesday. Nashville reported more than 2,700 active COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday, bringing the city's total to 24,514. Leaders say numbers are showing signs of stabilizing but, they're still not where they need to be.
"Winning teams get the fundamentals right, so us that's wearing masks and socially distancing," Mayor Cooper said.
Titans are slated to face the Jaguars on Sept. 20 at Nissan Stadium. Right now, all Titans staff is being tested for COVID-19 daily.
"There's certainly no denying that we wish we would be opening our home schedule on Sept. 20 in front of fans," Titans President and CEO Burke Nihill said. "NFL football is a game meant to be played in front of a loud, cheering crowd and no one desires that outcome more than us. However, these are not normal times and as civic leaders in this great city, we understand and support Mayor Cooper and Metro Nashville Public Health Department's decision today to delay welcoming fans into Nissan Stadium."
The Titans said they will continue their work on a Safe Stadium Plan to be rolled out when fans are welcomed back to events. Right now, it 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.
"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," 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."
Nashville SC have games at Nissan Stadium on Aug. 10, Sept. 2 and Sept. 12.
“It’s hard to believe that almost six months ago, on Feb. 29,we welcomed 60,000 fansat our inaugural match in Major League Soccer, and even harder to realize the change our lives have endured since then,” Nashville SC CEO Ian Ayre said. "As we prepare to return to playing games back at Nissan Stadium starting on Aug. 30, we will miss the support from those 60,000 fans. Whilst we all know the value of fans to their team, we believe that it’s important that we all take responsibility in fighting this virus by taking a responsible approach for the safety of everyone."
Ayre said he hopes to welcome fans back to Nissan Stadium "soon."
“That means wearing our masks and adhering to all CDC protocols, so together we can control it, minimize it and we all hope that as a result of this continued responsibility we will be able to welcome you back at Nashville SC matches in a safe environment soon."
Nashville SC is currently playing matches and said players are being tested every two days.
This is breaking news story and will be updated.