GREEN BAY, Wis. -- More than 80% of Green Bay Packers season-ticket holders opted out this year, according to team president Mark Murphy.
He told the team's official website, Packers.com, in an interview posted on Saturday that those survey results factored into his decision to hold at least the first two games of the season without fans at Lambeau Field.
"The fact that that high a percentage of our fans were not comfortable coming to games was a factor that weighed into my thinking," Murphy said in an interview posted Saturday on Packers.com.
Lambeau Field is annually sold out on a season-ticket basis, and there are more than 100,000 people on the season-ticket waiting list. Green Bay is the NFL's smallest city.
"Obviously here in Green Bay, we know how much our home games mean to the local economy and to the local community," Murphy said. "But at the end of the day the most important thing was protecting the health and safety of our community and our fans."
Murphy said he believes the NFL season can succeed even though they're not operating in a bubble like the NBA.
"Daily (COVID-19) testing gives us something compared to a bubble," Murphy said.
The Packers' first chance to host fans at Lambeau Field is Nov. 1 against the Vikings.