On the eve of Super Bowl weekend, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote to President Biden to tell him that each of the league’s 32 teams “will make their stadium available for massive vaccinations from the general public.”
Driving the news: Goodell wrote in Thursday’s letter that this could happen quickly “because many of our clubs have previously offered their facilities as COVID testing centers and as election sites in recent months.”
Why it matters: This continues the NFL’s efforts to use its unique footprint to help the US recover from the pandemic.
- The fact that there’s a Super Bowl being played even during the pandemic reflects the NFL’s successful navigation of hurdles that once threatened to curtail or close the season.
- Amazingly, the league played all 256 games of the regular season without cancellations, AP reports.
- The NFL is treating 7,500 vaccinated health workers from across the country for seats in the pandemic-shrunken crowd ahead of Sunday’s game in Tampa.
Goodell’s letter says the NFL is “committed to doing our part to ensure that vaccines are as widely available as possible in our communities.”
- The clubs will make the stadiums available “in coordination with local, state and federal health officials.”
Read the full letter via DocumentCloud.