The Indianapolis Colts officially have a strategy for dealing with the pandemic this season.

Each team in the NFL is adopting its own policy for handling the situation.

Those policies are often based off of recommendations from local governments. That’s certainly the case for the Colts, since the team worked with the Marion County Public Health Department to nail down its guidelines.

Overall, Colts fans will have far fewer restrictions to deal with compared to last year.

Full capacity and no masks at Lucas Oil Stadium

First thing’s first, fans will be able to pack out Lucas Oil Stadium this season.

The Colts started out last year with limited capacity. The team began with only 2,500 fans, and then slowly built that number up over the course of the year.

This time around, Indy will have full capacity from square one. That should make for a fun environment at the team’s home games this season. Home-field advantage will definitely be in full effect.

Additionally, fans will not need to wear masks inside of Lucas Oil. The Colts are recommending that fans wear masks, but will not be forcing fans to use them.

Eric Neuburger, Lucas Oil’s stadium director, is hoping that fans opt for face coverings despite the arena not requiring them.

“We really hope people wear masks. I’ll be wearing a mask. Our team will be wearing a mask. We’re prepared to set a good example for folks. So, I’m really hoping that people will take the health officials’ advice.”

The policy is another changeup from last season, when fans had to sport a mask unless they were eating or drinking.

Low contact experience at Lucas Oil

The Colts will be looking to limit physical contact as much as possible within Lucas Oil Stadium.

Fans will not be able to use cash at Colts home games this season. That includes concession stands and the team’s pro shops.

Tickets will also be 100% mobile for this season, so you’ll need to download the Colts mobile app if you plan on attending a game.

The low-touch experience will include the usual pandemic tradition of constantly sanitizing surfaces around the stadium.

The Colts have also added extra hand sanitizer stations around Lucas Oil for fans to use as well.

Tailgating returns for Colts games

It wouldn’t be football season without tailgating, and the Colts are getting back in on the fun this year.

The usual tailgating areas sat empty last season due to safety precautions.

There will be no health screenings at the tailgate fields, or at Lucas Oil itself. Fans won’t have to stop to have their temperatures taken or to answer basic health questions.

Things are mostly back to normal this season, so eager fans can return to their go-to tailgating spots for all the beer, food, and fun that they can handle.

Improved experience for live betting Colts games

The Colts are taking full advantage of their partnership with Verizon for the upcoming season.

Fans at Lucas Oil should notice the difference in the stadium’s new Wi-Fi service.

Typically, stadium Wi-Fi is spotty at best. Cell signals often struggle too, since having so many people in a small area tends to overload services.

The Colts are specifically targeting these problems with Lucas Oil’s new upgrades.

In addition to the beefed-up Wi-Fi, the stadium is also adding Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband to the in-arena experience. Both services are only available inside of Lucas Oil, so they shouldn’t face the same bandwidth issues that plague normal Wi-Fi and cell service.

That could be a game changer for gamblers looking to bet on NFL games as they’re happening.

Spotty service can make it difficult to live bet on a Colts game inside of Lucas Oil, but the new tech at the stadium should help alleviate those problems.

Obviously, you’ll have to be a Verizon customer to use the company’s 5G capabilities, but at the very least, Colts fans should be able to make the most of the team’s new upgrades.