The Minnesota Vikings announced Friday that they plan to proceed with training camp for the 2020 season, but will do so without fans in attendance for the first time since becoming a franchise in 1961.
The news comes days after the NFL announced their guidelines on how to conduct training camps across the league while COVID-19 transmission remains a threat.
While the agreement between the league and the NFL Players Association prohibited fans from attending practices, it allowed for two fan events assuming local guidelines were followed. However, the Vikings have chosen not to pursue that possibility and will begin camp without fans on July 28 per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The decision to hold camp without fans could be a sign of things to come as the NFL inches closer to the 2020 season. The league has already eliminated the first and fourth weeks of the preseason schedule and the NFLPA has made a push to eliminate the preseason entirely to ensure player safety.
Even the start of the regular season, which is slated for Sept. 13 against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium, has a strong possibility of not allowing fans into games, but that decision has yet to be made by the NFL.
The NFL has previously stated that it would like full stadiums this fall and winter, but with time running out, that possibility seems to be fading.
