Hall of Fame Game 'highly unlikely' to be played in front of fans, says Ohio governor

The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s business-as-usual approach to its signature events in August has met some resistance from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

DeWine said Tuesday that the Hall of Fame Game in Canton on Aug. 6 and the Hall of Fame induction ceremony two days later should not be held with fans in attendance.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys are scheduled to kick off the NFL preseason schedule in the Hall of Fame Game at Tom Benson Stadium, which has a capacity of 23,000.

The game sold out in an hour and more than 10,000 tickets have been sold for the Aug. 8 enshrinement ceremony.

“Having a crowd that size, I think is highly unlikely,” DeWine said. “Certainly, it could not occur today. It would be very dangerous to do it today.”

BREAKING: @GovMikeDeWine says it will be “highly unlikely” and “extremely dangerous” for the Pro Football Hall of Fame to allow large crowds for this summer’s enshrinement week events.

— Noah Hiles (@Noah_Hiles95) June 16, 2020

Given the proximity of the Hall of Fame from Pittsburgh, Steelers fans are expected to comprise a majority of the ticket holders for the game and the ceremony in which former safety Troy Polamalu and former head coach Bill Cowher are enshrined.

Last week, the Hall of Fame opened its doors to visitors after being closed since March 16 because of the coronavirus pandemic. A Hall spokesman said the preseason game would serve as a “test case” for the NFL in its return to play amid the pandemic.

DeWine isn’t on board with that approach.

“These are the things that we have talked about all the way through this, as we open Ohio up, and we get back to work and get back to doing the things that we like,” DeWine said, “probably the last things that are going to be able to reopen are the big crowds, particularly when you have big crowds that are close together.”

Ohio has detected 42,010 cases of covid-19, with a death toll of 2,597 and 7,007 more hospitalized. The state has a positive test rate of 7.4% based on 565,000 tests administered.

Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted said the state has engaged in talks with Hall of Fame officials about alternative plans for the Hall of Fame game and enshrinement weekend. The Hall of Fame’s board of directors will meet Thursday to map out contingency plans.

The Centennial Class enshrinement ceremony, which includes former Steelers safety Donnie Shell and former Pitt offensive lineman Jimbo Covert, is scheduled for Sept. 18. Cowher is among five members of the Centennial class that will be enshrined in August.

Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.