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Vikings Drop Plans for Larger Crowds for the Rest of Regular Season

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Getty The Vikings dropped their plans to pursue larger crowd sizes at home games for the rest of the 2020 regular season.

The Vikings broke some bad news for fans who were hoping to see a game at U.S. Bank Stadium in the final seven weeks of the season.

Amid a surge in coronavirus cases across the country, the Vikings dropped their plans to pursue hosting more than 250 fans for the remainder of the team’s regular-season home games. A state mandate has prohibited indoor gatherings larger than 250 people throughout the season, however, the team had continued to work with U.S. Bank Stadium and the state in an attempt to host more fans at some point this season.

The Vikings announced the decision in an official statement on Wednesday:

After much consideration and discussion with U.S. Bank Stadium partners, the State of Minnesota and the City of Minneapolis, we will no longer pursue hosting more than 250 fans for the remaining 2020 Vikings regular season home games.

While we have worked hard to develop a safe and responsible plan to bring back a limited number of fans, our decisions have been based on medical guidance with public health as the top priority. We take seriously Minnesota’s rising COVID infection rates and increasing hospitalizations and believe closing the final four home games to fans is the right decision to help protect our community.

Players, coaches and staff have missed the energy and passion Vikings fans bring on game day and appreciate the unwavering remote support as we enter the second half of the 2020 season. We look forward to welcoming fans back next season and recreating the special environment we all enjoy at U.S. Bank Stadium. To be in a position to do that, we strongly encourage everyone in Minnesota to take the necessary precautions to minimize the spread of this virus by wearing face coverings, practicing proper social distancing and limiting social gatherings. 

The Vikings join the New England Patriots, who play in an outdoor stadium, as the only teams that will not have fans at games for the remainder of the season. Several teams with larger stadiums have played with smaller crowds at roughly 25 percent max capacity.

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Playoffs Still a Possibility?

While many fans are still grappling with the Vikings’ bye-week turnaround and the possibility of the team making the playoffs, the Vikings have not yet officially declared the possibility of a postseason game at U.S. Bank Stadium.

As improbable as making the playoffs seems, let alone a home game this season, the possibility has not been ruled out as the Vikings have encouraged Minnesotans to minimize the spread of coronavirus.

The Vikings, who split games with the NFC North first-place Green Bay Packers this season, will likely be competing for a Wild Card spot would play on the road in the 2020 postseason.

The possibility of a home playoff game, with or without fans, would take a complete unraveling by the No. 1 New Orleans Saints, No. 2 Seattle Seahawks or the third-ranked Packers in the NFC playoff race.

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The Vikings broke some bad news for fans who were hoping to see a game at U.S. Bank Stadium in the final seven weeks of the season.Amid a surge in coronavirus cases across the country, the Vikings dropped their plans to pursue hosting more than 250 fans for the remainder of the team’s regular-season home […]