The claim: The Green Bay Packers will allow their fans to smoke in the stands next season
A May 12 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) includes a picture of fans filling the stands at Lambeau Field and claims the Green Bay Packers have made a change to the Wisconsin football stadium’s strategy.
“BREAKING NEWS: The Green Bay #Packers will allow fans to smoke cigarettes, e-cigarettes and Delta-8 pre-rolls in the stands during games this upcoming #NFL season,” reads the text on the image, which is a screenshot of a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Lambeau Field is an open stadium and will now be the ONLY NFL venue to allow smoking in its own stands.”
The post was shared over 150 times in two days. Other versions of this claim spread widely on Instagram and X.
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Our rating: False
Representatives of the Green Bay Packers and the National Football League said the claim is false. Wisconsin state law prohibits smoking in sports facilities, and any changes to Lambeau Field’s smoking policy would therefore have to be made by law. There have been no proposals to change the policy during the current legislative session.
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Wisconsin state law prohibits smoking in sports arenas, which are defined as “any stadium … in which sporting events are held with spectators.”
Accordingly, there are “no designated smoking areas at Lambeau Field,” said Green Bay Packers spokesman Aaron Popkey.
Any change to Lambeau Field’s smoking policy would have to be done by law, but so far there have been no such efforts.
“No proposals have been introduced in the current legislative session to exempt sports arenas from the state’s smoking ban,” said Ryan LeCloux, a senior legislative analyst with the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau.
According to state law, the smoking ban applies to cigars, cigarettes, pipes and “all other burning smoking devices” that contain tobacco.
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Local authorities can impose additional restrictions on smoking in public and sports facilities can choose to allow “devices or products that are not expressly prohibited,” LeCloux said.
Lambeau Field, for example, is a “smoke-free facility” that also prohibits electronic cigarettes, according to the team’s website.
In February, a bill was introduced in the state parliament to extend the state smoking ban to electronic smoking devices and marijuana products, but it was not passed.
National Football League spokesman Tim Schlittner also said the social media claims were false, adding that smoking is not allowed in the stands at any of the league’s stadiums.
USA TODAY reached out to users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Our fact-checking sources:
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Tim Schlittner, May 15, email exchange with USA TODAY
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Aaron Popkey, May 14, text exchange with USA TODAY
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Green Bay Packers, accessed May 14, Fan Code of Conduct
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Ryan LeCloux, May 14, email exchange with USA TODAY
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Wisconsin State Legislature, accessed May 14, Legislature Search
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Wisconsin State Legislature, accessed May 14, Ban on Smoking
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: False claim that Packers fans can smoke in the stands | Fact check
