If all goes according to plan, the Patriots will play their first home game of the 2021 season in front of a full crowd at Gillette Stadium.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced that the August 1 is the target date to remove all restrictions on capacity at large venues. The team said in a statement that they would also consider having fans at training camp if all goes well between now and the summer.
“We are so excited to hear Governor Charlie Baker’s announcement today that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is officially increasing large venue capacities to 25 percent beginning May 10 and 100 percent on August 1,” Gillette Stadium said in a statement. “This is not only great news for our teams and all our fans, but more importantly represents a final step in the state’s COVID response plan and a much-anticipated return to normalcy.”
Other states are expected to make similar changes to capacity rules in time for the 2021 season and that would make for a very big return to normal after last year.