Washington Football Team to play 2020 home games without fans

Starting with its Sept. 13 season opener versus the Philadelphia Eagles, the Washington Football Team will play its 2020 season home games at FedExField without spectators due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Ashburn-based team announced Wednesday.

The NFL team formerly known as the Washington Redskins said it had developed “a comprehensive health and safety plan” for reopening the stadium in Prince George’s County, Maryland, in cooperation with state and local officials, but it has decided not to allow fans to attend home games this season “out of an abundance of caution due to the rapidly changing dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic.” The team said it would re-evaluate the decisions if the pandemic improves during the 2020 football season.

Season’s ticket holders are being contacted about financial alternatives to their tickets, the team said.

“We are fortunate to host the best fans in the NFL year after year, but the well-being of those supporters, along with that of our players, coaches and each and every member of our gameday staff is simply too important, and the current knowledge of COVID-19 too unpredictable, to welcome our fan base to FedExField to start the season,” Washington Football Team owner Dan Snyder said in a statement. “We were the first team in the league to recall our scouts and other personnel from the field back in mid-March and have been monitoring this evolving situation ever since. This decision was not an easy one, but after several discussions with federal, state and local officials – along with input from some of the nation’s foremost medical experts, based right here in the nation’s capital – we are confident that it is the right one. We are working to find ways to make our fans’ presence felt in new and innovative ways for 2020 and can’t wait to welcome the community through the gates as soon as it’s safe.”