Warriors and Sharks may host fans
Teams will need city, county approval
New guidelines may allow the Warriors and Sharks to host a limited number of fans starting April 15.
The California Department of Public Health announced new guidelines Friday that would allow the Warriors and Sharks to host a limited number of spectators for indoor games starting April 15.
Decisions will be made in the local jurisdictions in which the teams play, so allowing fans to attend games at Chase Center or SAP Center for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic more than a year ago will be subject to the discretion of San Francisco and Santa Clara County public health officials, respectively.
As of Friday, both San Francisco and Santa Clara counties are 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.
For counties in the most restrictive purple tier, indoor sporting events will not be allowed. In the next-highest 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.
For the Warriors, this news was met with optimism, as the organization had submitted an initial plan to host fans as early as November. Hopes were again high in mid-March when the city announced the Giants would be allowed to open their outdoor ballpark to a limited number of fans
“Our job now is to sit down with the county and to make sure that we have our arms around everything that we need to do to ensure that we’ll be able to return fans to Warriors games back into Chase Center very soon.”
— Rick Weltz, Warriors President and Chief Operating Officer.
starting with their home opener on April 9.
“Today is really a big milestone day for getting fans back at the Chase Center to see Warriors games,” Warriors President and Chief Operating Officer Rick Weltz said in a video message the team released Friday afternoon. “We’ve been working so hard for the last year with both the state and with our county to find a path back for our fans at Chase Center. And the indoor event guidance that was issued by the state is really encouraging.
“Our job now is to sit down with the county and to make sure that we have our arms around everything that we need to do to ensure that we’ll be able to return fans to Warriors games back into Chase Center very soon.”
The Warriors last played with fans in attendance on March 10 against the LA Clippers. A day later, the NBA season was postponed when Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Warriors play four home games in seven days April 6-12, and, if there are no delays or setbacks, would have nine more home dates remaining, including the final six games of the regular season.
A Sharks spokesman said the team would need to review the guidance and see how it might be applied at SAP Center to see when and having fans back at the center is feasible.
The Sharks’ downtown San Jose arena, which has been open since September 1993, has a seating capacity for hockey of 17,562. The NHL requires their arenas to meet certain air-flow and air-quality standards before fans can be allowed inside buildings.
Fans have been allowed back inside arenas in more than half of all 31 NHL cities, with the three California-based teams and all seven Canadian teams being among the exceptions. As of Friday, the Colorado Avalanche will allow a maximum of 4,050 fans, of 22 percent of their arena’s capacity.
The Sharks have eight scheduled home games left after April 15 before the end of the regular season on May 8, with the NHL playoffs beginning shortly after. The Sharks are presently in seventh place in the West Division, four points out of a playoff spot.
The last Sharks home game with fans present was on March 8, 2020. Attendance for that game with Colorado was announced at 14,694.