Charlotte Hornets won’t have fans at home games to start NBA season
The Charlotte Hornets have no immediate plans to host fans at home games when the NBA season commences Dec. 22.
The Hornets hope COVID-19 circumstances will change in the coming months, allowing at least some limited attendance at Spectrum Center.
“We will continue to work with state and local health officials, as well as the NBA, to develop a plan that will allow fans to return to Spectrum Center in both a safe and timely manner,” the Hornets said in a prepared statement Monday. “We are optimistic that conditions will improve in the coming months and hope to be able to have fans in attendance later in the season.”
The Hornets’ statement said the team consulted with state and local government officials in coming to this decision. While the NFL Carolina Panthers and college football teams in North Carolina have hosted some fans at games (up to 7% of stadium capacities), indoor facilities will be held to a higher standard, since contained spaces hold greater infection-spread potential.
Each NBA market’s ability to host fans is impacted by different local regulations, relative to COVID-19 concerns. The NBA issued guidelines to teams that would allow up to 25% capacity where local regulations would allow.
The Hornets will play 36 regular-season home games, plus preseason games against the Toronto Raptors on Dec. 12 and 14. The NBA has yet to announce the 2020-21 schedule.
Hornets president Fred Whitfield has been particularly proactive in scrutinizing cleanliness protocols for Spectrum Center during the pandemic. Spectrum Center lost hosting the Republican National Convention in August to the pandemic, a major hit to Charlotte’s hotel and restaurant sector.
Whitfield hired two different accrediting agencies to review Spectrum Center cleaning procedures. Every procedure interacting with the public was reviewed, even condiments: Whitfield mentioned in the summer that the Hornets will do away with pump bottles of ketchup and mustard, switching to individual packets, to reduce possible infection transmission.
Spectrum Center closed to the public after the pandemic ended the Hornets’ season in mid-March. The uptown arena first reopened in October to house an early-voting site for the election.
