As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs prepare to take the field at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa it’s all hands on deck at the NFL preparing to get all the details right for Super Bowl LV during a global pandemic.
The Super Bowl Experience happens along Tampa’s Riverwalk on Jan. 29 ahead of Super Bowl LV on Feb. 7.
During a virtual press conference Tuesday, NFL Vice President and head of live event productions Jon Barker said everything is on schedule and teams are confident everything will be in place for an event being held as we continue to battle COVID-19.
Only 22,000 fans will be allowed inside Raymond James Stadium in Tampa for the Super Bowl.
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The NFL says they are taking every precaution possible to ensure the events before and on game day don’t turn into a “superspreader” event.
“We’ve had 17 weeks to learn, change, adapt, learn, change, adapt and we just continue to do that and refine those plans and we’re very confident in what we’re doing here, making sure that we have physical distancing, making sure that we are watching our vertical movements,” Barker said.
Every fan, guest and person working at the stadium will receive a kit that includes an N95 mask, bacterial wipes hand wipes and sanitizer when they arrive, Barker said.
Raymond James Stadium is being sanitized daily including through an air filtration system.
At the Super Bowl Experience at Tampa’s Riverwalk, fans will need to have reservations for a specific date and time they want to visit. Due to COVID-19 there will not be player appearances this year but fans will get to view the Vince Lombardi trophy.
Similar to inside the stadium, masks will be required at all times during the Super Bowl Experience and on game day.
Barker said the halftime show will be different this year as well.
“You’re gonna see a remarkable halftime show just done in a different way from a different place. You’ll see America the beautiful, you’ll see the Anthem, you’ll just see it done in different ways and really beautiful ways, and then some added color and some added entertainment that we’ll bring around the stadium, Barker said without revealing too much.
Additionally, the NFL is honoring health care workers who are on the frontline of the pandemic. More than 7,500 frontline health care workers have been invited to attend by the NFL. The halftime show will pay tribute to those individuals as well.
“The last piece of that planning is the celebration of the healthcare workers; a program that we’re all extraordinarily proud of here at the league,” Barker said.
The Super Bowl will air on WKMG News 6 at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 7.