Businesses in NFL cities bracing for possibility of no fans

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Hotel clerks in this town know exactly when the NFL releases its schedule each year. The incessant ringing of the telephone serves as its own alarm.

“The second that schedule comes out, the phones just go off the hook,” said Kelsie Basten, the front desk manager at St. Brendan’s Inn in Green Bay. “It’s just insane.”

Now the phones are ringing for an entirely different reason.

The Green Bay Packers have announced they won’t have any spectators for at least their first two home games due to the coronavirus pandemic. All those fans who made reservations back in April are canceling travel plans.

That’s crushing news for hotel operators, restaurant owners and store managers whose budgets depend on those home football weekends.

“It’s scary times right now,” Basten said. “We’re kind of just going day by day, payroll by payroll, trying to get as much business as we can right now to keep us going through.”

Similar scenes are taking place in NFL markets across the nation as businesses deal with the fallout from pandemic-imposed attendance restrictions.

Most NFL teams won’t have fans at home games for the start of the season. That’s an additional blow for restaurants and sports bars already facing budget issues as they follow protocols brought about by COVID-19.

For instance, Detroit’s four major pro sports teams all play within a mile of one another, and the businesses surrounding those stadiums rely on fans stopping by before and after games. The Brass Rail Pizza Bar near Ford Field typically has a capacity of 260, but only 130 people are allowed in for now due to state policy.

“Whatever capacity that we have right now, if we fill it up, we’d be grateful,” said Brass Rail manager Mohamed Elmardi, who hopes fans...