Sports fans in New
York City will finally be allowed to support their teams in person.
Madison Square
Garden and Barclays Center will be open to the public for the first time in
nearly a year with some new safety protocols in effect.
Everyone will
be required to wear a mask and have a negative coronavirus test done three days
prior to attending the game. They
will also have their temperatures taken and then they will need to fill out a
health screening.
Once inside
the Barclays Center, fans are required to socially distance by sitting in
"pods" with up to four people, or mini suites, which are being called
"premium living rooms."
There will
also be around 450 touchless hand sanitizing stations.
All
tickets will be digital and single game tickets will only be available after
the All-Star break. News 12 is told those tickets will go on sale as soon as
the NBA releases the schedule for the second half of the season.
Workers
at the Barclays Center say they are ready to welcome back fans.
“We’re not about trial and error, we’re about getting this
right the first time,” they say. “We’re taking this very, very seriously.”
Gov. Andrew
Cuomo says the program comes from the success seen when fans were allowed back
during the Buffalo Bills playoff run.
The governor
says the success of reopening these arenas will determine when smaller venues
can reopen.
Business
owners near the areas are also hopeful that New Yorkers will stop by.
"We are
getting ready with our Barclays drinks," one restaurant owner says.
"Our Nets fans always support us before and after the game."
The Nets are
taking on the Sacramento Kings tonight at 7:30 p.m.
The Barclays
Center is allowing less than the 10% capacity permitted by the state. After the
NBA All-Star break, officials say they will permit the full 10% or
approximately 1,800 fans.