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and Hard Rock Stadium recently committed

to being the first public facility to receive a

STAR rating from the Global Biorisk Advisory

Council, which involves completing a rigorous

program to help provide what Dolphins

chief executive Tom Garfinkel “the safest

environment possible.”

Of course, even that might not be enough.

While much remains unknown about the novel

coronavirus, one fact that is painfully clear is

how easily it spreads. No league or team wants

their games to become a “super spreader” event,

and everyone acknowledges all the preparations

in the world cannot guarantee safety.

“In large masses, there is no system that can

effectively prevent another person from giving

germs to a second individual,” said Philip Tierno,

clinical professor of pathology at New York

University’s Grossman School of Medicine. “If

they sneeze or cough or talk directly, or even

breathe directly on a person, there is no system

that can prevent that.”

That hasn’t stopped sports facilities from

spending millions of dollars during the months-

long shutdown to minimize the risk. Giving fans

some measure of confidence is an investment in

the bottom line.

“We will get back to stadiums and watching

football, basketball, baseball, etcetera,

there is no question,” said Ryan Demmer, an

epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota’s

School of Public Health. “But it’s going to take a

little bit of time to do it safely. And that’s going

to take a little bit of innovation to do it safely in

the short-term.”

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