Saints head coach Sean Payton proposed quarantining 50,000 fans in hotels then bussing them to the Superdome so they can watch the playoffs

• New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton says he proposed quarantining 50,000 of the team's fans in hotels, then bussing them to the Superdome so they can watch the team's playoff games.
• "Scientifically, [if you] bus them, they've tested every day, and you've got a COVID-free facility. I think that's possible," he told reporters on Wednesday.
• Payton's comments come just days after the Bills were granted permission by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to have 6,772 fans in attendance for its playoff game versus the Colts.

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton has proposed quarantining 50,000 of the team's fans in hotels then bussing them to the team's stadium, the Superdome, so they can watch the NFL playoffs.

The Saints take on the Chicago Bears on Sunday, January 10 in one of the league's six wild-card playoffs.

"I've brought up the idea of testing 50,000 people and quarantining them in a hotel and having like the most safest Superdome known to man," he told reporters on Wednesday.

"Scientifically, [if you] bus them, they've tested every day, and you've got a COVID-free facility. I think that's possible. I don't know if it's taken off or not."

"It can be done, but anyway, look, we focus on what we can control," he added.

Given the logistics of keeping 50,000 people quarantined in hotels, and the fact there has been no official announcement from the Saints that it could happen, it seems unlikely Payton's suggested plan will come to fruition.

Louisiana reported 6,882 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, with 46 new deaths.

A number of NFL teams have allowed fans to attend games this season, despite the pandemic, with the Jacksonville Jaguars admitting as many as 17,000 per game. The Saints were one of the teams who admitted fans, allowing 3,000 people into the Superdome after week 7 of the season.

No team has admitted anywhere near 50,000 to a single game, however.

The Bills will have fans at their first home playoff in 25 years

Payton's comments come days after the Buffalo Bills were granted permission by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to have 6,772 fans in attendance at the Bills Stadium for what is will be its first home playoff game in over 25 years.

The Bills take on the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday January 9.

Fans will be required to present evidence of a negative COVID-19 test before being granted entrance to the game, where there will be mandatory mask-wearing and social distancing throughout. Contact tracing will also be employed after the game.

If the Bills beat the Colts to reach the Divisional playoffs, a separate set of fans will be allowed to attend that game.

"For all the Bills fans, please, everyone take these measures seriously," said Cuomo. "We have made progress on the COVID virus over the past few weeks. The numbers are down - we want to keep them down."

Bills owner Terry Pegula said: "Our objective here is to support our team in as many ways as we can. I'll tell them to be safe, be smart and most importantly, be loud."

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