Fans may be back in arena March 12.
One year ago this month, fans filed out of the AT&T Center after the Spurs’ stirring 119-109 victory over Dallas.
The stands have been empty ever since.
A day after that March 9 game, the NBA suspended the 2019-20 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Since March of last year, all we’ve been dreaming about is getting back together,” said R.C. Buford, the CEO of Spurs Sports & Entertainment.
After at least one false start, that day appears to be drawing near. The Spurs on Monday announced plans to re-open the AT&T Center at reduced capacity for a March 12 game against Orlando.
If all goes to plan — and Spurs executives are well aware about the perils of best-laid plans — the team would host 17 home games over the second half of the NBA schedule.
“There is nothing like playing with fans,” Buford said. “The atmosphere in the arena is going to be so much different that what we’ve had.”
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he and his team were eager to perform in front of paying customers again.
“It will be great to see fans,” Popovich said before the Spurs faced Brooklyn on Monday night at the AT&T Center. “Fans are important. Fans are motivating. We’re thrilled.”
The NBA completed its interrupted 2019-20 season on a highly sanitized, locked-down single campus in Orlando, Fla.
Since the start of the new campaign, teams across the league have wrestled with how to safely bring revenue-enhancing fans into their buildings without the protection the Florida bubble provided.
The Spurs initially announced an intention to re-open the AT&T Center for a Jan. 1 game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Those plans were scrapped as coronavirus case numbers spiked across South Texas and Bexar County during the winter.
It has taken two-plus months for the Spurs to devise a new plan for putting people in the seats of the AT&T Center again.
Much of that planning phase involved a waiting game, holding out until COVID-19 numbers in the area experienced a sustained downward trend.
On Jan. 14, Bexar County reported a monthly high of nearly 30,000 new coronavirus cases. By the middle of last week, that number had dropped to less than 6,000.
“I just think the world is in a much better place than we’ve been,” Buford said. “San Antonio as a community is trending in the right direction.”
Fans who attend the March 12 game against Orlando will notice a multitude of changes from the last time they were in the arena.
For starters, they will have less company.
The team says it will limit the 18,500-seat arena to a capacity of approximately 3,200 people.
To get into the building, those fans must pass a mobile health screening before arrival. Masks are required upon entering the AT&T Center, though they may be removed for eating and drinking.
Tickets — which go on sale March 2 to seasonticket holders and March 5 to the general public — will be sold in pods of two or four. Those pods will be situated throughout the arena in order to maintain at least 6 feet of space between them.
“For the last 10 months, our team has been laser focused on implementing heightened health and safety measures, concentrating on three key areas: people, surfaces and air,” said Casey Heverling, vice president and general manager of the AT&T Center. “The entire organization has gone above and beyond to make sure that the AT&T Center is a safe and enjoyable environment for everyone.”
Other enhanced health and safety measures include use of electrostatic sprayers and UV robots to disinfect surfaces, as well as a dedicated “Clean Team” that will focus on sanitizing high-traffic areas.
The club also has upgraded the air filtration system in the arena.
While at the games, fans will pay for concessions with a touchless option using the Spurs mobile app.
“Our team has done an amazing job of not only taking care of what we know but also going out and learning about the best way we can create the safest environment,” Buford said.
Buford and others in the Spurs’ leadership group understand best-laid plans can go awry, especially in a pandemic.
The club says it will continue to seek input from state and local health officials and will revise protocols as necessary.
Still, it appears the Spurs’ days of playing home games for empty seats are nearing an end. It has been a long time coming.
“We still have to be safe,” Buford said. “We’re still going to need to be masked. We’re still going to need to be respectful and protective of each other. But I think it’s the right time. We’re excited to get back together.”