Super Bowl 2021 attendance: Raymond James Stadium at reduced capacity for Tampa Bay Bucs vs Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Cheifs are out to defend their crown at Super Bowl LV tonight but they will have to topple the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their own back yard if they are to do so.
Sunday night's mouthwatering showdown is a tantalising match-up between superstar Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the iconic Tom Brady, who will make his 10th appearance in the big game and first for the Bucs in his maiden season away from New England as he hunts a seventh ring.
The dominant Chiefs claimed the top seed in the AFC with a 14-2 record before outlasting the Cleveland Browns in a thrilling Divisional Round clash and then brushing aside Josh Allen and the previously red-hot Buffalo Bills to win another conference championship and make it back-to-back Super Bowl trips.
Meanwhile, the Buccaneers are appearing in the NFL showpiece for the first time since their lone success at Super Bowl XXXVII in San Diego in 2003, defeating the Washington Football Team on Wildcard Weekend before seeing off NFC South rivals the New Orleans Saints and emerging victorious in Green Bay on Championship Sunday.
The Buccaneers also have the distinction and indeed the pressure of becoming the first team in NFL history to contest a Super Bowl at their home stadium - the 65,890-capacity Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
And while fans remain absent from sporting events in the United Kingdom amid a third national lockdown enforced during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, across America certain franchises and cities have permitted the return of a certain number of spectators to live matches.
That will include the Super Bowl, with the NFL revealing an update earlier this week that 25,000 people are expected to attend Sunday's clash.
Importantly, 7,500 of that number will be vaccinated healthcare workers that have been given free tickets as guests of the NFL after helping to battle against Covid-19 on the frontlines.
Per the NFL, all 25,000 supporters will be issued with free PPE kits and hand sanitiser on arrival at Raymond James Stadium and be required to wear face coverings throughout.
The blocks of tickets have been allocated to ensure that fans remain six feet apart, while there will be markers visible at the stadium to help those at the game to maintain social distancing.
To make up for the smallest attendance in Super Bowl history, the NFL will also place 30,000 cutouts around the venue.
