The Toronto Raptors have had fans at "home" games in Tampa, FL. The Toronto Blue Jays have had fans at their Grapefruit League games in Dunedin, FL.
Toronto FC (Orlando) and CF Montréal (Miami) will likely have fans at the start of the 2021 MLS season. Vancouver Whitecaps FC will establish a base at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah outside Salt Lake City, uncertain of whether fans can attend.
Arizona, Dallas, Florida, Tampa Bay in the NHL have been aggressive early and often in the 2021 season. They have the highest capacity of fans and they were in the stands from the start.
A majority of NHL teams are allowing fans in the stands. A few teams have added fans in March. The general consensus is 10%-15% capacity with Detroit at 4%, St. Louis at 7.5%, and Dallas at 30%.
The number of NHL teams that haven't allowed fans is dwindling. Minnesota allows 250 people, including staff and families. Colorado doesn't allow fans right now but the plan is 22% capacity starting April 2.
There are 12 NHL teams that don't allow or haven't an agreement to have fans: California teams (Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose), Chicago and Washington, and all 7 Canadian teams.
Edmonton has been the loudest voice among the Canadian teams to get NHL fans back in the stands.
The argument can be that the U.S. teams — especially Arizona, Dallas, Florida, Tampa Bay — were too liberal in letting fans in arenas. The argument can be that the Canadian teams have been too conservative in letting in fans.
This isn't just about the Canadian NHL teams making some money from fans in the stands. They are at a financial disadvantage compared to the southern U.S. teams in revenue. This is also about where the NHL final four will play.
The Toronto and Edmonton NHL bubbles were stellar in the summer of 2020. The U.S. divisions have had multiple postponements due to COVID-19 in the 2021 season. The first all-Canadian game was postponed with Edmonton in Montréal on Monday night due to COVID-19 protocols.
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Putting the last four NHL teams in a bubble would be a wonderful financial windfall for Edmonton or Toronto or maybe even Vancouver. The federal Canadian government had no issue allowing this in 2020.
The provincial governments have been reluctant to allow fans. The alternative for the lone Canadian survivor of the NHL playoffs is to be assigned a U.S. arena while the other 3 U.S. teams get to play at home.
Gary Bettman doesn't like Canada but had no choice in 2020. U.S. teams are allowing fans. Gary Bettman can't and shouldn't ignore that issue. The NHL would be reluctant to come back to Canada without fans.
British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec have influence over fans in the NHL. That list of provinces plus Saskatchewan have influence over fans in the stands for CFL games this summer and fall. CFL fans are also watching this trend since the consensus is that Canadian football won't happen without fans.
Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer for British Columbia, said Monday that indoor gatherings of "any size" remain a risk and only gather in small groups of up to 10 outside. "The areas where we know it spreads most quickly and most dangerously are the same as they were last year — but now there's even less a margin for error."
Vaccines could make a significant difference between now and June. The current influx of cases in Canada due to COVID-19 variants has to also come down.
750 fans of the then Montréal Impact MLS team got to watch their favourite team in person in 2020. Quebec allowed a maximum of 250 fans each for the 3 games in the summer of 2020 at Stade Saputo. Canada can start with small crowds, if and when there is a consensus from the medical community.
photo credit: Rogers Sportsnet/Blue Jays/MLB
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