Islanders To Welcome Fans To Nassau Coliseum Beginning March 18
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- With the announcement from Gov. Andrew Cuomo two weeks ago that sports arenas could begin opening up to fans with limited capacity, nearly all of the state's professional teams announced their plans for return.
The only one that had not was the New York Islanders.
That changed Wednesday as the NHL team released a statement on its Twitter account announcing that season ticket members will be allowed to return to Nassau Coliseum beginning March 18.
In the statement the team says that, in accordance with state guidelines, attendance will be limited to 10% capacity. For the Coliseum, which seats 14,500 fans, that means attendance will be in the 1,450 range for the time being. Prior to the reopening for season ticket members, the team will have 1,000 Northwell Health front line staff as guests for their March 11 contest against the New Jersey Devils as a thank you "for their heroic efforts this past year."
#Isles statement regarding the return of fans to home games this season. pic.twitter.com/gbZndTpNIb
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) February 24, 2021
"I'm thrilled that Islanders fans will be able to rock the Barn next month. This is a big step towards our safe return to normal, and the reopening of the Coliseum means so much for Nassau. We know virus risk is dramatically reduced with precautions in place and rules being followed. I'm confident that we're ready to do this safely and smoothly, and hope we can soon further increase the number of fans in the stands," Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said in a statement.
The team says that season ticket members will be the priority for all of the remaining home games this season. In order to get more information about tickets, the team says to call 888-NY-ISLES.