The Super Bowl will have 30,000 cardboard fans to help the game look full and keep real fans socially distant
The Super Bowl will have 25,000 real fans in a stadium that holds three times that amount.
The NFL made 30,000 cardboard cutout fans to fill the empty seats and make the game look closer to capacity.
The cutouts cost $100 each.
The cardboard fans are also spread out in a way to keep real fans safe.
When Super Bowl LV kicks off between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida will look full with the help of some fake fans.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, the NFL will have approximately 25,000 in the stadium for the 55th Super Bowl, far fewer than the 70,000 fans that attended the big game the last time it was held in Tampa.
To make up the difference, the NFL produced 30,000 cardboard cutouts of fans to fill most of the remaining seats. You can see the cardboard cutouts filling the stadium on the NFL Network before the game.
Unlike other sporting events where the cardboard cutouts are all bunch together in some areas of the stadium that receive the most TV coverage, the fake Super Bowl fans are spread out to keep the real fans socially distant.
Here is a closer view of the fans from the NFL Network.
The NFL charged fans $100 for each cardboard cutout at the game. That's a cool $3 million in revenue to make up for some of the lost ticket and concession sales.
In addition to spacing out the real fans, the NFL is also taking other precautions to keep Super Bowl fans safe.
Among the safety measures, the NFL will also hand out gift bags to all fans with N95 face masks. Also, all purchases at the stadium will be cashless. If fans do bring cash, there will be reverse ATMs that will give them a card to use at concessions and shops.
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