WPIAL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS ROUNDUP

Governor bumps up venue capacities

The crowds at WPIAL basketball playoff games will likely be a little bigger now that Gov. Tom Wolf has raised the indoor capacity limits.

Wolf announced Monday that the indoor capacity limit for events was raised from 10% to 15%, regardless of venue size. That’s good news for fans who might want to catch the WPIAL playoffs, which began Monday and will continue through March 15.

Under Wolf’s previous order, occupancy limits were based on size, such as 10% capacity for indoor venues with capacities under 2,000 people, and 5% capacity for venues with a 2,001 to 10,000person maximum occupancy.

Under the WPIAL’s basketball playoff mandates, higher- seeded teams will play at home through the semifinals. The championships will be played at a neutral high school gym.

But until Monday, only 10% of a gym’s capacity could be filled — and only gyms that had a capacity of 700 or more could be used for home games. Plus players, coaches, officials and game workers all had to be included in the 10% count.

“Schools, if they are comfortable moving to the 15% while maintaining the physical distance requirement, can use that new number to determine occupancy limits and reassess the amount of tickets available to spectators,” WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman said.

The 5% addition might not sound like much, but consider that a gym that holds 1,000 could only accommodate 100 people. Now, the place can take 50 more fans.

Scheuneman said fans should contact participating schools for ticket information.