Big news for Titans fans.
The Tennessee Titans have announced that they will allow some fans to attend games starting in October.
In a statement today Titans President and CEO Burke Nihill (who took over for Steve Underwood during one of the most difficult offseasons in history) confirmed rumors that Nashville mayor John Cooper was going to lift some restrictions on the stadium.
This came after a lot of speculation on whether or not the Titans would have time to get everything ready even if restrictions were lifted.
Last week the mayor had yet to make a decision on whether or not fans would be allowed in, and if you have been watching closely you know why this was weird.
Despite the October 4th game being just 17 days away, the Titans had no idea what the plans were from a local government that had been largely opaque in their decision-making process. This was a stark contrast from when Cooper had declared that it was unsafe to have fans in attendance for the first home game of the season six weeks before the matchup.
Regardless, the outcome is in favor of what Titans fans wanted so I don’t think we will hear much about that anymore. Part of the team’s official statement reads like this:
"On Thursday morning, the Titans announced Nissan Stadium will open at limited capacity beginning with the team’s October 4 contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers. After that, the attendance will gradually increase for games in October with the goal of reaching a fixed capacity for the remaining games in November and December."
There were some people speculating that the Titans might have a chance to convince the mayor to reverse course and open the stadium up for the home opener this week. Obviously those were long shots to begin with, but this statement shut those rumors down.
What’s next?
Here are the details for how many fans are allowed in as the Titans slowly ramp up ticket availability over the next month.
"The team’s October 4 game against the Steelers will be open to season ticket members up to 10 percent, which is roughly 7,000 fans in the lower bowl and club levels.The October 11 game against the Bills will allow 12.5 percent, or roughly 8,600.The October 18 game against the Texans will allow 15 percent, or roughly 10,400.After that – the Titans are scheduled to play two games at Nissan Stadium in November (vs. Chicago and Indianapolis) and two games in December (vs. Cleveland and Detroit — capacity could reach 21 percent, roughly 14,500 fans, which is the maximum capacity the facility can accommodate under current CDC guidelines. Outside of the seating bowl, suites will operate at a limited capacity."
Official instructions on what to do next are being sent to season ticket holders on Monday.