49ers to play 2020 season at an empty Levi’s Stadium?

The San Francisco 49ers and the rest of the NFL are looking at contingency plans amid COVID-19, which could include fan-less arenas like Levi’s Stadium.

It sure would be weird, but the San Francisco 49ers could end up playing a portion or all of 2020 in front of zero fans at Levi’s Stadium.

A report this week from the Washington Post stated the NFL is considering serious contingency plans amid the coronavirus outbreak, which has already forced the reduction and limitation of medium- and large-scale gatherings across the country and the world.

The report cited one of the sources as saying:

"“I don’t know if it’ll be a one-third-filled stadium, a half-filled stadium or whatever,” said one of the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the details of the league’s planning had not been made public. “The NFL is planning for everything from playing without fans to playing in full stadiums. We know there will be a push from the [federal] government to open things up.”"

Levi’s Stadium, the Niners’ own home, and the surrounding team facilities have already been shut down, and there are other reports suggesting it could be a while before things reopen again.

California Governor Gavin Newsome also said he wasn’t “anticipating that happening in this state” when asked about both college and NFL games being played in front of full crowds this upcoming season.

Already, COVID-19 has forced postponements and cancellations of other sporting events, such as the 2019-20 NBA season, the NHL, NCAA basketball’s March Madness tournament and the start of the 2020 MLB season. The NFL, which has had the benefit of being in its offseason, hasn’t been affected anywhere near to the levels of many other leagues, but that could ultimately change depending on the coronavirus situation.

In reality, it’s almost impossible to predict and understand what will happen next and whether or not the 49ers — the rest of the league, for that matter — will be able to conduct practices, training camp, preseason or regular-season events on schedule.

Another report from NBC Sports Bay Area suggested the possibility teams and the league are considering is to play in front of empty venues with the players likely being tested on a regular basis.

There are risks there, too, although drastically cutting down the numbers in attendance would certainly lessen the exposure.

Still, it’s weird to think of live football games being conducted in front of, well… nobody.

On the positive side, should this end up being the case, fans would at least be allowed to enjoy games at home while keeping up with their favorite players. It would give a small sense of normalcy to what has been a very unnormal situation for the entire world. That’s a potential plus.

At the same time, as was seen last year, Levi’s Stadium can be a loud venue. Especially when the 49ers are good. Denying that kind of home-field advantage to the Niners would be an odd, surreal thing, for sure.

Either way, don’t expect any news on this to go away anytime soon.