Seahawks announce first 3 home games to be played without fans

The Seattle Seahawks announced that the team would play at least its first three home games of the 2020 season without fans at CenturyLink Field.

RENTON, Wash. - The Seattle Seahawks announced Wednesday that the team would play at least its first three home games of the 2020 season without fans at CenturyLink Field.

The news is not a surprise as the United States continues to battle COVID-19.

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"After careful consideration, we have made the difficult determination to play at least our first three home games (Sept. 20, Sept. 27 and Oct. 11) without fans in attendance," the Seahawks said in a statement. "While CenturyLink Field has become the best home field advantage in the league thanks to the energy and passion of the 12s, the health and safety of all of our fans, players and staff remains our top priority. While we are hopeful that conditions will improve as the season moves forward, we will continue to follow the lead of public health and government officials to make future decisions about having fans in attendance."

"Seattle hosts New England on Sunday Night Football in Week 2, Dallas in Week 3 and Minnesota in Week 5," John Boyle wrote on Seahawks.com. "The next home game and the first that could potentially include fans is Nov. 1 against the San Francisco 49ers. Atlanta, which hosts the Seahawks in Week 1, has announced that there will not be fans in attendance for that game, while Seattle's Week 4 opponent, Miami, has not yet announced if fans will be allowed to attend."

The Seahawks said the organization would follow guidelines from public officials about whether to have fans in attendance for the remaining five home games.