As Omicron surges in the US, comfort in seeing live sports wanes

In fall 2021, when many major leagues were beginning their seasons, there was a sense that we were nearing the conclusion of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Americans emerged from the summer with a high comfort level for attending live sporting events. However, as Omicron crashes over the country just a few months later, Americans are less comfortable going to a game than at any other time in the last seven months, according to ongoing data compiled by YouGov.

Roughly a third of the American public say they’re fine with heading to a live sporting event, marking a significant decrease from a high point of 43% in in November 2021.

Most pro sports facilities in the US don’t have capacity restrictions in place and most notably, LA County has stated they don’t expect any limits for the Super Bowl.

YouGov data shows 43% of NFL fans are comfortable going to a live sporting event, which is the lowest rate of any of the fanbases of the four major leagues.

American fans of the NHL – which is contending with capacity limits in Canada – are most likely to be somewhat or very comfortable with heading to an arena (52%), ahead of MLB fans (46%) and NBA fans (43%).

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Methodology: YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data is nationally representative and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race. Learn more about Profiles.