George Richards, FHN Publisher
Joel Quenneville said it was a privilege to have fans back in the stands, something the Florida Panthers will indeed have Sunday night when they open their 2021 season against the Chicago Blackhawks.
“We are looking forward to it,’’ Quenneville said. “It is fun playing in front of people.”
The Panthers are among just a handful of NHL teams which will open their doors to a limited number of fans to kick off the season.
Tampa Bay had planned to have fans at its games, but an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the region had the team change its mind.
Amalie Arena announced earlier this month that fans would not be allowed in for Lightning or Toronto Raptors games for the time being.
On Thursday, the Arizona Coyotes were the first NHL team to allow fans in and announced a crowd of 3,450 for their opener against the San Jose Sharks.
The Dallas Stars also plan to welcome a limited number of fans to their home games.
Florida plays its first game of 2021 against the Blackhawks Sunday at 7 p.m. (FSF, 560-AM).
“It was awesome, I think all of us were a little bit surprised,” Arizona’s Clayton Keller said. “It felt like a lot more people were there. We were so pumped to see that. To have fans back in the building was unbelievable.
“Friends of mine who were able to come were so pumped. We’re really looking forward to the rest of the home games here in front of the awesome fans we have.”
The Panthers plan on limiting capacity at the 19,250-seat BB&T Center to approximately 5,000 fans. It is unclear how many will attend Sunday’s opener.
Season ticket holders have been allowed to either opt in or out for the 2021 season and many have elected for the latter. Single game tickets have been on sale for the past week.
It appears there are good seats still available for Sunday’s opener.
The Panthers, after playing in front of an empty Scotiabank Arena in Toronto back in August, say they will be happy to welcome whomever shows up Sunday — and for the rest of the home games this season.
“Five thousand is better than zero,” said Chris Dreidger, who will start in net for the Panthers on Sunday.
“We played in the bubble so we are used to zero fans. I found the biggest difference was really when a goal got scored. During the play they are pumping in the crowd noise, but you’re in the middle of it and focusing on the game so that you don’t notice.”
On Saturday, arena workers were putting the finishing touches on prepping the arena with stickers on the floor guiding social distancing as well as marking off closed seats.
The arena will also offer touchless payments for parking, merchandise and concessions.
Sunday’s game will be the first event held at the arena since the NHL shut down the 2019-20 season on March 12.
The last Panthers game to be held at the arena before Sunday was on March 7 when the Panthers beat Montreal 4-1 in front of an announced 17,873.
Roberto Luongo has his No. 1 retired that night.
It seems like years ago.
The Panthers seem very excited about having some sort of ambiance in the building.
“Having the support, I hope we take advantage of it,’’ Quenneville said. “There will be excitement in the building when you get some momentum on your side and it can help as you progress through the course of a game and the season.
“I am looking forward to it. The people there will be seeing something different, unique around the rink. It has been a while since we have seen fans in the building so we are certainly looking forward to it.”