New York to allow arenas, large venues to reopen with special COVID safety protocols in place
ALBANY — Bust out your foam fingers and get ready to rock.
New York’s sports arenas, stadiums and large concert venues can reopen later this month with COVID testing, capacity limits and other safety protocols in place, Gov. Cuomo announced Wednesday.
The state has already granted approval for a Feb. 23 game between the Brooklyn Nets and Sacramento Kings at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the governor said.
Venues that seat more than 10,000 people will be permitted to open with a 10% capacity limit and all attendees will be required to test negative for coronavirus within 72 hours prior to the event.
“The testing is the key,” Cuomo said during a remote briefing from the state Capitol. " This hits the balance of safe reopening.”
There will be mandatory assigned seating and masks must be worn during the events, which must be approved by the state Health Department, the governor added.
The move comes in the wake of a pair of Buffalo Bills playoff games that saw 6,700 fans in attendance earlier this year. Mobility data firm Camber Systems found those games did not lead to a rise in COVID cases.
“While we’re doing vaccines and while we’re controlling the spread of COVID, we also have to at the same time get this economy open, intelligently and in a balanced way,” Cuomo said. “The Buffalo Bills demonstration program which I mentioned before was an unparalleled success.”
The Knicks announced that they plan to allow about 2,000 fans to attend home games at Madison Square Garden, also starting Feb. 23 with a game against the Golden State Warriors. A Rangers game scheduled for Feb. 26 against the Boston Bruins will also see fans in the stands.
A major difference between the Bills playoff run and games at either Barclays or the World’s Most Famous Arena will be the fact that those upcoming events are indoors, where coronavirus spread is more of a concern, according to health experts.
“Health and safety remain our top priority, and we will be working closely with state and health officials to implement the strongest operating protocols,” the Knicks said in a statement.
The Barclays Center is outfitted with “MERV-14 filtration, which exceeds suggested minimum guidelines,” according to the Nets.
The venue has also installed high-efficiency particulate air, or HEPA, units “in strategic locations for further air filtration.”
It remains unclear if vendors and other employees at venues will get prioritization for vaccination.
New York’s COVID numbers have leveled off and been in a steady decline following the holiday surge that swept the state in December and January, the governor noted, allowing some restrictions to be lifted.
Just last week, Cuomo said weddings with up to 150 guests will be allowed starting in March and indoor dining is slated to return to the Big Apple on Friday.
But large venues have been off-limits to fans since the early days of the pandemic, with major sports such as baseball and football played in empty stadiums and arenas last year.
In a statement, the Yankees, whose Bronx home is currently being used as a mass vaccination site, called the announcement “an encouraging first step.”
“The safety of everyone who enters Yankee Stadium remains our top priority, and we will work diligently and in lockstep with the governor to ensure all precautions and procedures are being followed as we lead up to the 2021 baseball season,” the team said.
Asked what will happen if places like Citi Field or Yankee Stadium are still being used as mass vaccination sites by opening day, Cuomo joked that “between innings, people will do vaccines.”
A staffer clarified that vaccination efforts will continue and the state will work with teams to determine whether sites will need to be moved.
Mayor de Blasio said he’s onboard with the plan adding that it could give hope to COVID-weary New Yorkers, but offered a caveat.
“We have to keep a really careful eye on the situation,” he said. “We have to always be led by the data and science. It has to be health and safety first.”
Both Cuomo and de Blasio have touted efforts in recent days meant to help revitalize the arts and performing industries in the Empire State. The governor unveiled a popup-focused initiative that will feature more than 300 events surprise events across the state.
“This is a difficult time, on many, many levels. Personally, it’s very difficult, emotionally, it’s difficult, economically it’s difficult, but we’re finding the balance and we’re going to be the better for it,” Cuomo said.
With Michael Gartland
