CBJWerenski8
Formerly CBJWennberg10 (RIP Kivi)
- Jun 13, 2009
- 42,343
- 24,269
Have no clue where you pulled this from, but Bettman has always said starting the season with no fans is an option, with a move to possibly adding fans later in the season:
NHL 2021: How games, alignment and schedule could look for next season
And with cases rising exponentially in Columbus/Franklin County, having fans at CBJ home games any time soon is a pipe dream.
I’ll add more to this later if I remember (I’m on mobile) but here’s this to prove I’m not just pulling this out of nowhere:
“It’ll be difficult to play many [NHL] games without fans from a business perspective. We’ll wait and see when we start next year. Let’s get through this season and see what happens next season,” Neely said. “I think everybody is anticipating some kind of a spike [of COVID-19] in the fall. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen, but I don’t know that you can play too many games without fans. Everybody [across the NHL] is building out their models without fans, 1/3 [full of] fans, 1/2 [full of] fans and full buildings, but it’s all speculation right now what we think we’re going to see at the start of next season.”
Cam Neely says playing 2020-21 NHL season would be 'difficult' without fans
I’m not saying I agree with having fans back or anything. Especially with the current spike. As a person who just tested positive for it a week ago, it’s not fun and I don’t wish it on anyone. However, I do understand why the NHL needs some sort of revenue intake as their TV deal isn’t enough to keep the league afloat or pay the players their salaries over a season. With a vaccine coming, I think it’s more likely than not the nhl will try to get fans in at least some capacity. It’s a slippery slope, I’m not sure where the right answer is. Selfishly I want hockey back, with fans and everything, but logically that doesn’t make sense.