It might be hard to catch a case of COVID from a stranger giving you a high-five at an NBA game, but making out with a someone you don’t know during the “Kiss Cam” promotion would definitely not be a good idea.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and you will not believe what one NBA team is adding to a standard ticket package to get fans into a game.
The New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets are the latest two NBA teams that will allow fans to see games live at Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center.
The Nets will start slow, putting fans in just 300 seats for their next three games, while the Knicks are going to sell about 2,000 tickets for the next three games.
The State of New York revamped pandemic rules allow teams in New York to open their gates to 10% capacity.
John Abbamondi, the CEO of the parent company for the Nets and Barclays Center can’t wait to officially open the doors after almost one full year of not allowing fans into his arena.
“We are looking forward to bringing Nets fans back to Barclays Center to see what we believe is the most exciting team in the NBA.”
That means half of all NBA teams now allow a portion of the seats in their arenas to be filled by humans, 15 of the 30, with none being allowed to have more than 25% occupancy.
Barclays Center in Brooklyn is being very creative as they welcome fans back for the first time since last March. They are the only venue in North American sports that is offering COVID-19 testing as part of a ticket package pricing. Since they have to have a negative test to be able to enter the arena, the team will mail out a test in advance of a game, and then they provide a rapid test at the turnstile to confirm a negative status.
Since the Nets are only allowing a handful of fans initially, they are sprucing up the arena and putting together group-sitting areas that feature couches, tables and other little touches to create a luxury living room type vibe.
The Nets are the most exciting team in the NBA this season, and would be packing their arena each and every night if we weren’t in the midst of a pandemic.
But this is a start.
Here are the NBA teams allowing fans into games.
Yes:
Atlanta Hawks – 8% capacity
Brooklyn Nets – 10% capacity
Cleveland Cavaliers – 14% capacity
Dallas Mavericks – 3,900 season ticket holders
Houston Rockets – 25% capacity
Indiana Pacers – ramping up to 25% capacity
Memphis Grizzlies – 11% capacity
Miami Heat – up to 3,000 fans per home game
Milwaukee Bucks – ramping up to 10% capacity
New Orleans Pelicans – 9% capacity
New York Knicks – 10% capacity
Orlando Magic – up to 4,000 fans
Phoenix Suns – 9% capacity
Toronto Raptors – Not playing home games in Canada. Playing home games in Tampa, and allowing 3,800 fans
Utah Jazz – 4,000 fans per game
No:
Boston Celtics
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Minnesota Timberwolves
Oklahoma City Thunder
Philadelphia 76ers
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Washington Wizards
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