There’s good news for anyone looking to witness a New York Giants or Jets game live this season. For the first time since COVID-19 hit the sports world hard and resulted in MetLife Stadium closing to fans, both teams will play with full capacity in the stands going forward.
This was announced on a joint statement in Monday, where the Giants confirmed it following an announcement from Governor Phil Murphy.
We are thrilled by Governor Murphy’s announcement today to have MetLife Stadium operate at full capacity for the 2021 season. We can’t wait to welcome our fans back, creating the gameday atmosphere we have all been missing. We will continue to work to ensure the return of fans is accomplished in a safe and responsible way.
This is set to come into effect as soon as the preseason, which the Jets and the Giants are set to play each other in during week one. The exact date and time of the game has yet to be announced but the week one date makes it clear that the game will happen in August.
The Giants played the previous season with no spectators in the stands, even as other teams in the NFC East were able to open back up with partial capacity.
This, in the eyes of some, may have made a difference in their performances as the Giants had to go on the road in front of hostile crowds while having no home crowd of their own.
Whether last season’s situation was ultimately fair or not, it won’t be a worry this year – it’s unknown what health and safety restrictions will be in place at MetLife Stadium, but we can already expect to see the stadium filled once again.