Sharks enthused by prospect of seeing fans in SAP Center again
San Jose Sharks players and coaches welcomed the California Department of Public Health’s announcement that it will allow indoor venues across much of the state — including sports arenas — to host events with a limited amount of spectators later this month.
The department’s decision, made public Friday, gives the go-ahead for the Sharks and the state’s other
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NHL teams, the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks, to potentially open their doors to a limited number of fans for games starting April 15.
The Sharks have eight regular-season home games left after that date, with the NHL playoffs beginning shortly after the end of the regular season in the second week of May.
The Sharks, who play the Kings tonight, are in sixth place in the West Division, three points out of a playoff spot with 20 games remaining.
A Sharks spokesman said the team would need to review the recently released state guidance for indoor venues and “will be communicating any potential SAP Center reopening plans with fans once finalized.” A Santa Clara County spokesman said the state’s rules would apply.
As of Friday, Santa Clara County was operating in the orange tier. In that tier, capacity is limited to 10% or 2,000 people, and capacity increases to 35% if all guests are tested or show proof of full vaccination. SAP Center’s seating capacity for hockey is 17,562.
For counties in the most restrictive purple tier, indoor sporting events will not be allowed. In the nexthighest red tier, events will be allowed at 10-20% capacity depending on the size of the venue. Capacity limits increase in the orange and yellow tiers.
“It’s very quiet in there for our players, it’s very quiet for the coaches and to have people in there will be exciting,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner said. “I know there’s a lot of things that need to still happen before that becomes a reality. From our point of view, if we can keep a healthy atmosphere and get people back and enjoy it, I mean, that’s what it’s all about.”
Sharks captain Logan Couture said players had previously requested to have family members, wives and girlfriends allowed into SAP Center for home games.
“Definitely not the same when (fans) aren’t there,”
Couture said. “That’s out of our control. Hopefully, everybody can get it figured out and we can have some of our fans at some point during the season.”
The Sharks, Kings, and Ducks were among the last few U.S.-based NHL teams that were not allowed to have at least some spectators inside buildings. The Colorado Avalanche became the latest NHL team to host fans earlier this week. The Minnesota Wild will begin to host up to 3,000 fans per game next week.
As of now, the Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals are the only other U.S.-based teams in the league unable to host at least a limited number of fans, to have government clearance to do so soon. All seven Canadian teams are not allowed to have fans.
The Sharks have recently played in buildings in Arizona and Las Vegas, where a limited number of spectators, between 3,000 and 3,500, have been present at each venue. When the Sharks played the Golden Knights on March 15 and 17 at TMobile Arena, attendance was capped at 3,473, or roughly 20% of the building’s 17,500-seat capacity for hockey.
“That was kind of the moment for me where, coming on the ice for warmup, it was like, ‘Oh my God, we’re back playing in the NHL again,’ ” Couture said. “There’s people and it’s loud and you feel normal to a degree. Most warmups, you come out and the music’s really quiet and all you can hear is the puck hitting the boards. So, definitely adds some atmosphere and builds some energy into the arena.”
When new guidelines for outdoor events were announced late last month, the state health department’s wording on indoor events said, in part, “Virus particles can travel more than 6 feet in indoor spaces and remain suspended in air even after an infected person has left the room.
“Indoor settings pose a much higher risk of transmission than outdoor settings. When an infected person does certain activities, such as singing or chanting, loud talking, or heavy breathing, for example with exercise, it can further increase risk compared to normal breathing and talking.”
On Friday, California reported nearly 4,000 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day total since March 9. The state now has a seven-day average of 2,643 daily cases, the highest the average has been since March 15.
Santa Clara County reported 169 new cases on Friday and seven deaths, for a total of 114,852 cases and 1,949 fatalities since the start of the pandemic.
Still, hospitalization rates in California for people with confirmed cases of COVID-19, and the number of patients in intensive care unit beds with confirmed cases, continue to decline.
“Most of the teams in the league have fans in the stands, and you can feel them in the stands,” Sharks winger Rudolfs Balcers. “If we can get some people in the stands back home, it would be awesome.”