Live Event Policy.....VACCINATED or UNVACCINATED?

[BillyWaz]

Greg, Tom, and Darik,

Since the NFL released their new policy on vaccinated/unvaccinated players, teams forfeiting games, losing pay, etc, it got me to thinking......what about the NFFC live events? I personally can't wait for the live events, but it got me thinking.

I didn't attend live events in Vegas last year, but if everything stays status quo as normal right now, does the NFFC have a current policy for their live events this year?

1) Will people be required to wear masks like last year?

2) Will chairs be spread out?

Etc.

Again, with the NFL coming out with this today, I just thought it might be a good idea for people to have an idea of what to expect in NY or Vegas this year.

Thanks guys!

Billy

[King of Queens]

Forfeiture of draft picks for the unvaccinated

[Greg Ambrosius]

Billy, this is a good question and an easy one for us to answer.

As everyone knows from last year in Las Vegas, we are at the mercy of whatever the state, city and hotel tells us to do. We are at their mercy with the health guidance that they require for their host hotels.

Last year, the Bellagio asked all attendees and hotel guests to wear masks while inside the casino and inside the convention center. Our customers were allowed to take off their masks inside the ballrooms and we doubled the size of each U, using two ballrooms for each draft. We also had each draft in individual ballrooms, so there was no big Primetime draft room on Saturday morning.

This year, Las Vegas is open for business and guidance is changed. There is no mask requirement and we are back to one ballroom for each draft. We do not plan on doubling the size of the U's for each individual draft, although on Saturday we will have the huge open Grand Ballroom for all of that day's drafts. We should have 5-6 drafts at one time in that huge ballroom for 10 am PT and 1 pm PT, with 3-4 drafts after that.

Now, things could change and we could go back to the guidance of last year, but I think Las Vegas and Nevada are not turning back the clocks unless the situation really changes. Tom is going to check with the guidance in New York and at the Stewart Hotel and we have the space to make those draft U's bigger if needed. We do not have the guidance from the Stewart Hotel yet, but Tom is checking.

Everyone who attended last year's Las Vegas NFFC drafts or this March's NFBC drafts at the Bellagio knows how we followed the state's guidance when it came to the guidance at that time. We doubled the rooms, doubled the space and masks were required throughout the casino and within the convention center. We kept everyone safe and inside the ballrooms people felt safe as well.

But we are in a different place now as a country. Las Vegas is going to be jam-packed for both weekends and hopefully the vast majority of our attendees will be vaccinated. We trust that our attendees at each live event will be smart about this situation and if certain owners feel like they need extra space we will figure it out and accommodate. Getting vaccinated before attending would be the best solution for everyone, but it's nothing we can legally mandate or regulate, so we trust every attendee will make the right decisions when joining us.

I hope this helps. Good luck all.

[Don Draper]

I’m not vaccinated and have no intention of getting vaccinated. It’s my body, my choice and for my risk profile, it makes zero sense to inject an experimental vaccine with zero long term health data. That seems like the “smart” decision for me. If someone thinks vaccines provide them with superior protection, by all means take it. In which case, you’ll be protected against “dumb” people like me.

With that said, I anticipate being in NYC to draft a football team or two. If NFFC isn’t comfortable with my situation, please let me know now, and I’ll withdraw from the event(s) I was planning to participate in. Thanks

[Greg Ambrosius]

I wanted to give an update on the policies that New York and Nevada have instituted recently and how it affects our NFFC live events:

New York: Tom is still discussing things with his new contact at the Stewart Hotel and will provide an update when he gets it. The mask mandate for indoor events in New York City goes into effect on Sept. 13th, a week after our live events, so at this point it doesn't seem like much is changing there. But we will see if the Stewart Hotel has any mandates we aren't aware of.

Las Vegas: Nevada instituted a mask mandate on Friday and MGM is requiring masks within the casino and convention center, similar to what we saw last September and this past March. But there are no limits that will affect us on the number of people in each ballroom and at this point we are not doubling the rooms like we did last year. We will space teams out appropriately -- which will be easy for football since most leagues are 12-team leagues -- but not to the extent like last year and once in the ballrooms things will be like last year. We are also ordering those 11 foot by 8 foot screens again, so you'll be able to see the draft board from anywhere in the room.

Nevada's Governor is updating guidelines on August 17th, but my contact does not believe there will be further restrictions on current planned events or reductions in capacity at the hotels. And it would be very difficult to change the guidelines immediately; New York City is taking six weeks to work in its new mask mandate.

We'll update here as we learn more and look for emails from Tom and myself if you're already signed up for live events as we get new updates. We plan on keeping everyone safe at the live events and will follow whatever guidelines the states and hotels we are at tell us to do. So far, there are no changes on our requirements for each city. Thanks and safe travels all.

[Tom Kessenich]

I spoke to my contact at the Stewart Hotel and here's the update for New York: They aren't implementing any changes at this time so no masks, vaccine requirements or social distancing changes with the tables like we had with the NFBC event in March. They're awaiting any specific guidelines from NYC in relation to hotel and/or catering function event space and will update me on any changes before our event. I'm still waiting to see if buffet service will be available for the food portion of the event.

[Coltsfan]

In regards to the live events in Vegas, does this mean that we will or will not have to wear masks while drafting at the tables?


Wayne

[Greg Ambrosius]

In regards to the live events in Vegas, does this mean that we will or will not have to wear masks while drafting at the tables?


Wayne

Same as last year Wayne, do NOT.

[Coltsfan]

That's what I thought but I wasn't positive. I can't imagine doing auctions with masks. This is good, I can breath again.

[Greg Ambrosius]

That's what I thought but I wasn't positive. I can't imagine doing auctions with masks. This is good, I can breath again.

We may have to muzzle Brady because he tells too many stories, but other than that we should be fine!!