SF 49ers: Levi’s Stadium a low-risk venue to watch games amid COVID-19

With questions about when SF 49ers fans can return to Levi’s Stadium on the rise, a recent study shows the venue is ranked considerably safe.

On Oct. 19, The Athletic’s David Lombardi reported the SF 49ers were soon to be allowed to have 13,000 fans in attendance for the Niners’ next upcoming home game against the Green Bay Packers in Week 9.

The move was pending approval from Santa Clara County, which is centered around the team’s home venue, Levi’s Stadium, and the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch shared an announcement from the Santa Clara County Public Health Department that seems to stand in contrast to Lombardi’s initial report.

It read:

"Audiences at professional sporting events will not be allowed anytime soon in Santa Clara County, and theme parks will not resume operation."

In short, it’s still hard to tell what will happen, as the SF 49ers and staff at Levi’s Stadium try to figure out when to reopen their doors.

Currently, Levi’s Stadium isn’t allowing fans to attend games amid fears of a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thirteen other franchises around the league have allowed fans to return, most in some kind of limited capacity.

Yet the top question for many executives, media types and fans alike is just how safe will it be to return to the venue.

SF 49ers: Levi’s Stadium rated as one of the safest stadiums to watch NFL games in person amid the pandemic

According to recently accumulated data compiled by Pickwise, provided to Niner Noise, Levi’s Stadium is statistically one of the safest venues to watch games during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pickwise’s coronavirus risk map calculated the risk associated with the 13 teams allowing fans at stadiums and ranked the Kansas City Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium as the venue with the highest risk along with the number of people likely to be infected with the virus:

1. Kansas City Chiefs, Arrowhead Stadium (31) — HIGH
2. Dallas Cowboys, AT&T Stadium (23) — MEDIUM
3. Tennessee Titans, Nissan Stadium (17) — MEDIUM
4. Jacksonville Jaguars, TIAA Bank Field (14) — MEDIUM
5. Houston Texans, NRG Stadium (12) — MEDIUM
6. Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium (11) — MEDIUM
7. Cleveland Browns, FirstEnergy Stadium (10) — MEDIUM
8. Cincinnati Bengals, Paul Brown Stadium (10) — MEDIUM
9. Carolina Panthers, Bank of America Stadium (7) — LOW
10. Denver Broncos, Empower Field at Mile High (5) — LOW
11. Philadelphia Eagles, Lincoln Financial Field (5) — LOW
12. Pittsburgh Steelers, Heinz Field (5) — LOW
13. Indianapolis Colts, Lucas Oil Stadium (4) — LOW

The SF 49ers, not having opened Levi’s Stadium, didn’t populate the list. But the data provided by Pickwise suggests Levi’s would be one of the statistically safest venues to watch games:

"This high prevalence of COVID-19 in Chiefs’, Cowboys’, Titans’, Jaguars’, Texans’, Dolphins’, Browns’ and Bengals’ stadiums stem from the high rates of COVID-19 cases in those states. Missouri and Texas have 193 and 93 cases per 100,000 respectively.Contrastingly, if the 49ers allowed 5,000 fans back into Levi’s Stadium, there would statistically be only 3 people at the game with the virus. If they allowed 10,000 fans, there would be 6, and with 15,000 fans, there would still only be 8 people with the virus."

According to the data map, California currently has 58 cases per 100,000 people.

It’s certainly assumed both the SF 49ers and Santa Clara County are paying close attention to data of this kind, largely supplied by the CDC and other health organizations. And one could draw the conclusion the county is operating much more conservatively with reopening a portion of large-scale venues to guard against a potential local outbreak.

Naturally, whenever fans are allowed back into Levi’s Stadium, they’ll be encouraged to make their own well-informed decisions while understanding the risks present.