The NFL will limit spectators for this season's Super Bowl. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Report: NFL planning for 20 percent capacity for Super Bowl LV

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Oct 28, 2020 4:48 PM ET

Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, won't be completely filled for Super Bowl LV if fans are allowed to attend the title game.

ESPN's Adam Schefter (h/t Kevin Seifert) reported on Wednesday that the NFL will reduce the stadium capacity to 20 percent of its 65,000 seats for the future championship game scheduled for Feb. 7. Masks will be mandatory for patrons, and spectators will be seated in pods six feet apart to allow for necessary social distancing.

Seating capacity at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa is 65,618, maybe more with temporary seating for a Super Bowl. So attendance at Super Bowl LV could be between 13-15,000 people. https://t.co/AZT14pyRaE
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 28, 2020

Additionally, the NFL wishes to maintain the standard 17-week schedule through Jan. 3. If, however, future postponements force the league to host a special "Week 18" for at least two clubs, it will cancel the off week between the conference title games and Super Bowl.

Thus far, the NFL has adapted to postponements caused by positive COVID-19 tests and subsequent quarantines by shifting off weeks for specific teams. Available bye weeks decrease through the season, though, and every team is expected to play during Weeks 14-17.

The NFL and NFL Players Association have discussed placing clubs and other necessary personnel in isolated bubble sites for the postseason tournament, but no such plans have been made official as of the final Wednesday of October.

The NFL could push Super Bowl LV back for up to four weeks to finish earlier portions of the season but prefers to avoid that scenario, if possible.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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