GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Frozen Tundra won’t be the completely empty tundra for the playoffs.
The Green Bay Packers announced Thursday that approximately 6,000 ticketed fans will be allowed to attend the team’s first playoff game, either Jan. 16 or 17 in the NFC divisional round.
The Packers had not allowed fans at Lambeau Field during the regular season and allowed only about 500 employees, their families and selected frontline workers to attend over the final month of the season.
The tickets will go to season-ticket holders who opted in over the summer. At the time, Packers president Mark Murphy said more than 80% of season-ticket holders had opted out. The Packers have two season-ticket packages — one for those who had tickets to games in Milwaukee when the Packers played selected games there until the mid-1990s, and another for Green Bay ticket holders — and are sold out on a season-ticket basis. They also have more than 100,000 people on the season-ticket waiting list.
The team said fans will be “arranged in socially distanced pods of two, four and six tickets throughout the stadium.” Prices, set by the NFL for playoff games, will range from $127 to $177, based on location. The team will continue hosting healthcare workers and first responders along with a league-managed allotment of tickets for the visiting team.
“Our players have enjoyed the energy provided by the limited fans we’ve had over the past four games. We’re looking forward to welcoming our Season Ticket Holders to add to that atmosphere in the playoffs,” Packers president Mark Murphy said in a statement. “We’ve seen our COVID-19 protocols in action and are confident we can safely add additional fans.”
In their announcement, the Packers said that “protocols used at Lambeau Field and across the NFL have proven to be effective as no local COVID-19 case clusters have been traced to NFL games according to the relevant health departments in NFL cities. Through the regular season, the NFL had a total of 109 games with more than 1 million fans in attendance.”
Face coverings will be required. Tickets cannot be sold or transferred.
Suites and indoor club seats will not be open and tailgating will not be allowed in the stadium parking lots.
The Packers have the No. 1 seed in the NFC, which means they have a bye on wild-card weekend. If they win in the divisional round, they would host the NFC Championship Game.