Denver Broncos star Melvin Gordon said if he has to play in empty stadiums this year it won’t feel much different than when he played for the Los Angeles Chargers last season because they “didn’t have fans.”
Gordon joined the Broncos this off-season after a five-year tenure with the Chargers. He spent two seasons playing home games at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. The team then moved to the much smaller StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., as it waited for its new stadium to be built.
Venue size could be irrelevant during the 2020 NFL season if the league does not allow fans to attend games or has major attendance size reductions due to coronavirus pandemic safety precautions. Gordon wouldn’t be bothered by a potential lack of Broncos supporters in 2020 at Empower Field at Mile HIgh in Denver.
“We [the Chargers] didn’t have fans anyway,” Gordon told former NFL cornerback Marcus Cromartie on social media.
“Much loyalty and love [to the fans], but we didn’t have many, so I’m not missing anything.”
The Chargers have had the worst average home attendance numbers in the NFL for the last three seasons because the StubHub Center is the league’s smallest venue, with a capacity of 27,000. The Chargers will share their new stadium with the Los Angeles Rams. SoFi Stadium, which has a capacity of more than 70,000, is scheduled to open in mid-August in Inglewood, Calif.
The Broncos and Chargers are AFC West division rivals. Their first planned matchup in 2020 is scheduled Nov. 22 in Denver. They would play again Dec. 27 at SoFi Stadium.
