Super Bowl 2021: What Changes To Expect For The NFL Championship Game

The 2021 Super Bowl will be the NFL’s most unique championship game in more ways than one. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the league is making changes to the number of fans that can attend the game and what will go on inside the stadium.

When And Where?

Super Bowl LV remains scheduled for Feb. 7, 2021, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, as the league moves forward with the 2020 season. The NFL plans to cap the venue at 20% capacity, though it’s possible that could change if conditions regarding the pandemic improve.

Raymond James Stadium has a capacity of just less than 66,000. A confirmed 15,740 fans were in attendance to watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the New Orleans Saints on Nov. 8 in a preview of what the venue might look like for the Super Bowl.

Masks And Contactless Payments

Stadiums that host a limited number of fans during the season are requiring people to wear masks when they aren’t eating or drinking, and that’s likely to still be the case during the Super Bowl.

When it comes to making purchases, customers won’t be able to use cash during the big game following the league’s latest agreement with Visa. Only contactless payments will be accepted at Super Bowl LV. The decision was being discussed before the pandemic and it’s now part of a deal that will run through the 2025 NFL season.

“A cash-free Super Bowl was the main goal of our new contract,” Mary Ann Reilly, Visa’s senior vice president of its North America marketing division, told CNBC. “The plan was to get to a cash-free Super Bowl within five years, and we’re doing it in less than two years.”

If people at Super Bowl LV have cash on hand, they can use up to $500 at a “reverse ATM,” which gives attendees a prepaid gift card that will allow them to make purchases.

Halftime Show

The Weeknd will headline the Pepsi Super Bowl halftime show.

“We all grow up watching the world’s biggest acts playing the Super Bowl and one can only dream of being in that position. I’m humbled, honored, and ecstatic to be the center of that infamous stage this year," the artist said of his upcoming performance.

Catch the 2021 Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021, on CBS.