The last time our nation lived through a cataclysm, it changed our sports forever. But 9/11 didn’t just change the way sports feel and sound, it also altered the places where our sports are played and watched. Stadiums added perimeters and several layers of security, the nationalism and militarism were dialed up, and the in-person experience was fundamentally different.
This coronavirus pandemic, likewise, will change our arenas and stadiums in ways both temporary and lasting. Because there are really two separate and distinct pieces to getting fans back into the venues: They have to be safe from the threat of a pandemic, and they have to feel safe.