New York State will allow closed stadiums and large theater venues to reopen to 10% capacity starting this month, nearly a year after their closure due to the pandemic, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday.
Barclays Center will be the first to reopen to host the Brooklyn Nets’ NBA game against the Sacramento Kings on February 23.
It will be the first time in 352 days that the Nets have played in front of spectators.
Cuomo said that any closed site with a maximum capacity of 10,000 people will be able to operate at a 10% capacity, including concert halls and theaters, to ensure “a safe reopening.”
The Barclays Center normally welcomes a maximum of 17,700 people.
Spectators will have to show that they have taken the covid-19 test and it has been negative less than 72 hours before the event.
Their temperature will also be taken before entering the stadium, and they must wear a mask and respect their distance from other spectators.
The announcement follows a successful test in January, when 6,700 spectators turned out for an NFL game with the Buffalo Bills.
All fans had to submit proof of a negative test before they could sit at the Bills Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, which has 71,600 seats.
Several states around the country already allow large stadiums to host the public, especially Florida, where 25,000 people attended the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Cuomo did not provide information on public places that host fewer than 10,000 people.
Nor did he say when the New York Knicks, rivals of the Nets, will be able to play their first game in front of fans at their 20,000-seat Madison Square Garden stadium.
Cuomo banned all crowds of more than 500 people on March 12, 2020, when the pandemic began to devastate New York. Covid-19 has left more than 45,000 dead in the state.
The governor said the positive test rate in New York continues to decline for the 33rd day in a row, from 7.94% on January 4 to 4.31% on Tuesday, February 9.
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