After new COVID restrictions were put in place in Santa Clara County, preventing sports teams from playing, the Santa Clara 49ers found a temporary home arena in Arizona.
On November 28th, Santa Clara County announced new COVID guidelines which included a three week ban on contact sports that went into effect Nov. 30. Santa Clara has also instituted a quarantine period for anyone who has traveled to the county from over 150 miles away. The county has cited the exponential increase in cases as cause for these new rules, especially as California is having difficulty with having enough hospital space and aid necessary for COVID and non-COVID patients.
In an interview with CBC, Niners Coach Kyle Shanahan said that the team found out about these restrictions through social media while on a plane to their game in Los Angeles. This claim, however, is disputed by the county, who issued a statement saying that “the County of Santa Clara has been in regular communication with the 49ers both before and after the announcement of the revised mandatory directive affecting all contact sports.”
Fortunately for the team, stadiums in both San Diego and Arizona have offered to act as a temporary home arena for the Niners. Jed York, CEO of the Niners, says that the team chose the Cardinals’ Arizona stadium and thanked both Michael Bidwell (Cardinals owner) and the NFL for helping to relocate games. In an interview with the 49ers Webzone, Coach Shanahan told reporters that although he had looked into other Bay Area facilities, nothing seemed as practical as sharing the Cardinals’ stadium.
To prevent a possible COVID spread, the Niners are bringing the entire organization, including chefs. Shanahan has also told his team to stay at their hotel when not at practice, and has made it abundantly clear that they will be following the same COVID protocol as earlier in the season.
With both the Cardinals and the Niners still playing, the teams will have to work out a COVID safe practice schedule. As of now, the Niners are scheduled to use the Cardinal’s training facility for practices.
Only needing one more win to make the playoffs, the Niners plan to play their next two home games against the New York Buffalo Bills and the D.C. Washington Football Team at the Cardinals’ stadium. After these two games, the Niners are traveling against the Dallas Cowboys (Dec. 20) and the Cardinals (Dec. 26).
The Niner’s season ends Jan. 3 with a home game against the Seattle Seahawks. If all goes as planned, the contact sports ban will be lifted Dec. 21, meaning that the Niners have a chance to play the home game at their Levi Stadium.