One year after COVID-19 resulted in empty stadiums and eventually pushed the 49ers to play their late-season games in Arizona, things will look a lot more normal in the months ahead at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.
49ers team president Al Guido spoke Wednesday night about opening Levi's Stadium to fans again in 2021, which has been expected for some time given the easing of COVID-19 restrictions around the United States. Guido said during the team's annual State of the Franchise event that the organization is very much looking forward to bringing fans back after what happened in 2020.
"Thank you for hanging in there with us. It wasn't a fun year for anybody," Guido said. "I think that's the understatement of the day. I can't wait to see you."
The 49ers will soon announce details about fan events and giveaways during gamedays, and on Wednesday night, Guido said the team will be practicing at Levi's Stadium during training camp and will be welcoming fans to watch.
"We're looking forward to having thousands and thousands of people back to watch our team," Guido said.
The 49ers will play eight of their 17 regular season games at Levi's Stadium this season. The team will open the preseason at Levi's Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday, August 14 (5:30 p.m. PT), with its regular season home opener coming against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, September 26 (5:20 p.m. PT). Guido specifically said there will be special events during the team's prime time games to celebrate the franchise's 75th anniversary.
"You're going to see a lot during those games, whether it's new giveaway items -- we're going to do giveaways for every single game this year... you may see some unique opportunities as it relates to on-field types of things," Guido said.
COVID-19 remains a significant threat on a global scale, particularly due to the increasing circulation of the more contagious Delta variant of the disease. But it's quite possible the Bay Area will avoid the types of problems other parts of the country may experience as a result of Delta in the weeks and months ahead.
"Given our high vaccination rates, I don't think there's much of a chance for a surge in the Bay Area," UCSF epidemiologist Dr. George Rutherford told ABC7 News in San Francisco on Tuesday.