December 23, 2020
County needs quick decision on Cuomo plan to let 6,700 fans into Bills home playoff game
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Wednesday that the state is studying a way to allow up to 6,700 fans into next month's Buffalo Bills home playoff game through a combination of pre-game Covid-19 testing and postgame contact tracing.
Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz was taken by surprise by the news, but said if the state can pull together a plan to let fans back into the stadium by Tuesday or Wednesday next week, the county will scramble to help make it happen.
The state Health Department is still working out details with the Buffalo Bills, but officials eye this as a first-in-the-nation "demonstration project" that could offer a way forward for other large events in the state. Bills Stadium seats about 73,000.
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"We would like to do it," Cuomo told reporters but added, "Nothing is final."
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