Fans will not be allowed at U.S. Bank Stadium at all this season

UPDATE: Here is the team’s official statement on the attendance policy. The original post will follow below.

After much consideration and discussion with U.S. Bank Stadium partners, the State of Minnesota and the City of Minneapolis, we will no longer pursue hosting more than 250 fans for the remaining 2020 Vikings regular season home games.

While we have worked hard to develop a safe and responsible plan to bring back a limited number of fans, our decisions have been based on medical guidance with public health as the top priority. We take seriously Minnesota’s rising COVID infection rates and increasing hospitalizations and believe closing the final four home games to fans is the right decision to help protect our community.

Players, coaches and staff have missed the energy and passion Vikings fans bring on game day and appreciate the unwavering remote support as we enter the second half of the 2020 season. We look forward to welcoming fans back next season and recreating the special environment we all enjoy at U.S. Bank Stadium. To be in a position to do that, we strongly encourage everyone in Minnesota to take the necessary precautions to minimize the spread of this virus by wearing face coverings, practicing proper social distancing and limiting social gatherings.

If you were holding out hope that you would be able to attend a Minnesota Vikings game at U.S. Bank Stadium this season, you can officially put those thoughts to bed.

Per the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the team has announced that there will be no fans allowed at Vikings games at U.S. Bank Stadium for the remainder of the 2020 NFL season due to concerns connected to COVID-19.

According to Rochelle Olson, who wrote the piece for the Star-Tribune, the team had spent months attempting to come up with a way to allow fans to attend games, including dividing the stadium into sections that would each have its own concession stands and restrooms, but in the end they decided the risks were simply too great.

The Vikings have four remaining games at U.S. Bank Stadium this season, including a three-game homestand following this Monday’s game in Chicago where they will host the Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers, and Jacksonville Jaguars. They also have a home game against Chicago in Week 15.

Once again, there will be no fans allowed into U.S. Bank Stadium at all this season, as the team has made that official as of today.