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NFL commissioner offers all 30 of its stadiums for vaccine distribution

Stadiums in Arizona, Atlanta, Baltimore, North Carolina, Houston, Miami and Massachusetts are already being used for the coronavirus shots.

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
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Gael Cooper
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A view of Raymond James Stadium ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida. 

 Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell has sent a letter to President Joe Biden offering all 30 NFL stadiums for use for "mass vaccinations of the general public in coordination with local, state, and federal health officials." Seven NFL stadiums are already being used in this way, according to the letter, shared online by CNN. Although the NFL has 32 teams, there are 30 stadiums because the New York Jets and Giants share one, as do the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers. 

A representative for the NFL didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Goodell's letter tells the president that the NFL is "committed to doing our part to ensure that vaccines are as widely accessible in our communities as possible" and notes that many of the stadiums should be able to ramp up quickly, as they have already been used as coronavirus testing centers and election sites. 

The president has called for 100 mass vaccination centers to be set up around the country within one month. Military troops and federal employees will help staff some of them.

Stadiums in Arizona, Atlanta, Baltimore, North Carolina, Houston, Miami and Massachusetts are already being used as vaccination locations, the Independent reports. Other sports arenas and large destinations are also being used as centers, including California's Disneyland and Six Flags Magic Mountain theme parks.

The letter, dated Feb. 4, comes just days before Sunday's Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, scheduled for Tampa's Raymond James Stadium. Around 7,500 vaccinated health care workers have been given free tickets to the game.