Sununu weighs in on high school football, Patriots games in New Hampshire

It's a fall Sunday afternoon and you are headed to a nearby high school to watch a football game.

But it's not just any football game - the New England Patriots have come to town.

OK, so it's a long shot for the NFL to bring a couple of games to a New Hampshire high school field, but it was the most likely scenario proposed by Gov. Chris Sununu for the Patriots to play their first couple of home contests in front of fans.

While on WEEI's Greg Hill Show on Aug. 19, Sununu was asked about the Granite State hosting a couple of games to allow the team to play in front of fans. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced last week that fans would not be allowed to attend at least the Patriots' first two home games.

After NASCAR held the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 race at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Aug. 2, the governor believes the state has a model for hosting large sporting events with fans in attendance.

"I will find a hundred different locations, trust me," Sununu said. "We have yet to identify any clusters out of our NASCAR event and we had 12,000 people in the stands. We made them wear masks when they came in. We made them wear masks when they were walking around or at concesions or going to the men’s room.

"But when they sat down, they were socially isolated and did a great job. When you give people the responsibility, that if they do a great job we kind of keep going, they did really well. I was there."

Sununu first suggested putting down turf at NHMS, but when asked what that might cost, he came up with a different idea.

"I haven’t thought this one through too well," the governor said. "What we would probably do is bring it to one of our larger high schools that can already seat thousands of people. You could probably do it at 50 percent capacity. I think we did Loudon at 35 percent capacity.

"We’ve shown that you can still manage the social distancing. Even if it’s only a couple thousand fans, you get the energy. It’s about the energy that you bring. But remember, you’ve got to bring the TV cameras, there’s a lot you have to bring to make that successful. I will happily look into it and throw it on the table."

As for the football games that are normally played at high schools, Sununu told Hill he was confident that would happen.

"I think not every school will do it," he said. "Some may choose not to and that’s their choice. I think a lot of them will. I think you could get some teams, if you got an outbreak, have to pull back on their season or just take a couple of weeks off and then come back later.

"It’ll be a little herky jerky, but it’s going to happen because it can. I think we put some good guidance to ensure that, not that – nobody can ensure that nobody is going to get COVID at schools or on a team. But you really can make it a lower-risk endeavor."

Over the past week, several school districts around the state have decided to play football this season, including Manchester, Nashua and Concord.

Even schools that initially opted not to participate in football have changed course. Somersworth will most likely not play this year, but has left the door open, while after putting football on hold earlier in August, Bedford decided Monday to move forward with a new plan.

While other states in the Northeast have made decisions on sports statewide, Sununu explained that the way cases of COVID-19 were dispersed around New Hampshire, it made more sense to allow everyone at the local level to make their own decisions.

"A lot of the districts, their big on local control," he said. "The state doesn’t put it’s thumb down and say ‘thou shalt, must.’ We let the locals, and the parents and the teachers and the school boards figure out the path. When they don’t have any COVID in their town, it’s hard to say we’re going to shut the school down and not let sports happen.

"When you go to school, you go to school with people in your town. I don’t want to say you’re isolated, but you’re in your own little bubble. I think people understand that and know it’s much more manageable."

That focus on making decisions locally is why New Hampshire is able to move forward with a season, as opposed to Massachusetts, where football is likely going to take place in the late winter and early spring.

"I have counties in New Hampshire that literally have no COVID right now," Sununu said. "I’m a big believer that it’s important that you at least try to get those sports going so that kids can interact and have that sportsmanship.

"It’s not just an activity; it’s a big part of these kids’ lives, their self-worth, and all those things that kind of make that whole kid be a little bit better. Anything we can do to try to get it to happen, we’re pushing hard."

Football, and all other fall high school sports, are scheduled to begin practices on Sept. 8, with football games set to begin on Sept. 25.