Playing ball with the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys in the age of COVID-19
While our game day experiences may seem like distant memories, sports teams are already getting back to the business of playing their games—and they're looking for new ways to keep their fans safe and healthy when it's time to reopen their doors to the public.
The bright sun hangs on a warm day. An icy drink sweats in a cup holder and countless cheering fans make the stadium seats rumble. On the great green field, the scoreboard towers over players and mascots as we experience the thrill of watching athletes play at the peak of their ability and leave behind the outside world for a few hours to revel in the energy of the stadium. Woven together, these shining threads help make up the fabric of our lives in a tapestry of connection, camaraderie and community.
While our game day experiences may seem like distant memories, sports teams are already getting back to the business of playing their games—and they’re looking for new ways to keep their fans safe and healthy when it’s time to reopen their doors to the public.
With this in mind, Allen Hershkowitz, environmental science advisor to the Yankees and co-chair of the WELL Advisory for Sports and Entertainment Venues, sat down for a conversation with leading innovators in sports and entertainment. Doug Behar, senior vice president and director of stadium operations for the New York Yankees, and Bill Rhoda, Legends president of global planning, shared firsthand how stadiums and venues are addressing COVID-19 and their plans to get back in the game.
Great innovation happens when we put people first
When evaluating how to reopen safely in a COVID-19 world, Behar and Rhoda knew they needed to prioritize the safety of their staff, players, and guests. They reimagined the protocols and procedures that keep their stadiums prepared. From limiting the number of people in the office to regular temperature checks and choosing the right cleaning products, they found the WELL Health-Safety Rating offered the guidance and strategies they needed.
“We were able to build a program of cleaning and disinfection, with air purification, too,” Behar said. “What we’ve seen with the testing as we’ve done in all of our facilities is they dramatically improved.”
Rhoda recognized the importance of tuning in to industry experts and research scientists to get the details right. Through collaboration and creativity, he knew they’d develop a plan that fostered confidence for all.
“It’s vitally important in our minds to be doing this. From the onset we thought it was going to be one of the key ingredients to making this thing work: we’re developing these plans and protocols, working with industry experts, public health officials, government officials and the International WELL Building Institute, trying to understand the best approach,” Rhoda said. “It’s truly a blueprint for industries like ours and others to walk away with a whole lot of confidence that we’re doing the right thing, it gives our players confidence in what we’re doing and at some point our fans and our guests who visit the stadium will see the WELL Health-Safety seal and they’ll know that we’ve taken all the appropriate steps to to open up safely.”
Something to cheer about: health, hope and leadership on a massive scale
In our current moment of uncertainty, when leadership is critical to help light the way forward, the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys are leading by example.
“As Nelson Mandela reminded us 20 years ago, ‘sport has the power to change the world.’ It has the power to inspire and unite people in a way that little else does,” Hershkowitz said. “That is why thousands of people want to learn what the Yankees and the Cowboys are doing to reduce the likelihood of the spread of COVID-19 at their venues. In this sense, as Mandela said, sport holds the potential to unite all of humanity, offering the potential to promote a public health renewal in every city throughout the world.”
By incorporating science and evidence-based protocols and procedures in their facilities, professional sports organizations can set a standard for all, with positive impacts rippling out to other sectors, industries and communities.
“When fans and guests come to our facility, they know that there’s a third party verified program in place that meets certain standards—the WELL standard, which has been around for a long time and is world-renowned. So it’s just a no brainer for people when they see it,” Rhoda said. “It really does give them confidence that health and safety is a top priority.”
Beyond COVID-19: health is about more than a virus
The health of our society and world depends on collective action and collaboration to implement proper health and safety procedures. But what about our shared social health? Cultivating healthy communities also means fostering inclusivity, celebrating diversity and ensuring equality. Here, too, the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys are taking the field with a plan to make a difference.
“We spent considerable time developing plans about how our organization can make a larger impact as a diversity and inclusion leader,” Rhoda said. “Individually, Cowboys or Yankees can’t make a total change but collectively the sports industry can have a significant impact. We’ve had town halls to discuss things we can do to bring that equality to our industry. It’s incumbent upon everybody in the sports world to do that because this is an industry that all of society looks to for leadership.”
Through an emphasis on human health, wellness and resilience, organizations will be able to come back from COVID-19 stronger and more in tune with the needs of their people. For more updates and information from interdisciplinary experts on how healthy places can support healthy populations, register for our ongoing webcast series.
