California Governor Gavin Newsom has made it clear on more than one occasion that sports will not be held with fans in attendance in his state through the start of the 2021 calendar year.
As Newsom continues to open his state’s economy amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there might be a bit more optimism on this front.
The NFL’s Los Angeles Rams sure the heck hope so. The team announced on Wednesday that its new SoFi Stadium will open Aug. 14 against the New Orleans Saints. The Rams have also put single-game preseason tickets on sale for the masses.
This did come with a bit of a caveat.
“If games are cancelled or played without spectators, all tickets purchased directly from the Rams or through Ticketmaster for Rams home games will be refunded within 30 days of cancellation or decision to play without spectators,” the team announced.
There’s certainly a lot of layers that go into this. That’s especially true when it comes to the preseason slate.
Rams schedule
Los Angeles is slated to host New Orleans for its opener on Aug. 14. From that point on, the Rams will “visit” the Chargers at the same venue on Aug. 22 before hosting the Denver Broncos a week later.
The Rams are set to host the Dallas Cowboys for their regular-season opener at SoFi Stadium on Sept. 13. All of these dates are preliminary in nature given the current pandemic plaguing the United States.
California football teams
The Rams are not alone when it comes to how the 2020 NFL season might look in the state of California. It’s not yet known whether the three professional teams will host training camp in the state. As it relates to the San Francisco 49ers, they could very well be forced to play in front of an empty stadium due to local pandemic-related policies.
The backdrop here is a college football season that remains very much in question. The Cal State school system added another layer to that recently.
It will be interesting to see what comes of this in the next few weeks and months. For now, the Rams are holding out hope that their debut season inside SoFi Stadium will go on with fans in attendance.