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To the desert we go! The weird gets weirder, and dare we say, it may be at its weirdest. With six games remaining in the 2020 season, the San Francisco 49ers, who reside in Santa Clara, are getting a temporary eviction notice from the County.
The County announced on Saturday that all contact sports in the county, whether youth, collegiate or professional, would be prohibited starting Monday, November 30 through Monday, December 21. The 49ers have two games, against the Buffalo Bills on December 7 and the Washington Football Team, on December 13, during that period. The team also finishes the season at home on January 3 against the Seattle Seahawks.
According to Matt Maiocco and Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports, the 49ers are looking into relocating in either Arizona or Texas for the immediate future. The team will travel to both locations already, to face the Arizona Cardinals on December 27 and the Dallas Cowboys on December 20. The restrictions in both areas are less severe than those instituted in California and Santa Clara County, and have facilities capable of hosting the team for practice and housing.
The Washington Post’s Mark Maske reports that the team will attempt to work out an easement with the County, before implementing the contingency plan, which the team and NFL looked at before the season.
49ers first will try to work with Santa Clara County. If nothing can be worked out there, they will implement an in-place contingency plan to practice and play home games elsewhere, source says. Remaining home games: Dec. 7 vs. Bills, Dec. 13 vs. Washington, Jan. 3 vs. Seahawks.
— MarkMaske (@MarkMaske) November 29, 2020
The NFL has told teams to conduct business remotely on Mondays and Tuesdays (barring gamedays), so the 49ers would need a new practice facility starting Wednesday.
