While the Raptors do not yet know where they will play at home next season, we learn that a handful of franchises have planned to welcome fans from the opening night. La ola may still have a few holes in 2020-21, but it’s a start.
The defending champions could not be clearer in a statement, there will be no audience at the Staples Center for the presentation of the rings. They who have already had to cancel their parade in the streets of the City of Angels in October do not want to take any action concerning the health of their players, staffs but also fans. A little further north, in San Francisco, the atmosphere is totally different. Deprived of the NBA since March, the Warriors are eager to find their supporters and Joe Lacob would have worked for eight months on a solution to allow to fill 50% of the seats of the Chase Center from the start of the school year. A daring but obviously not impossible bet which would imply the use of new PCR tests more efficient and especially much faster which make it possible to know the result in barely a quarter of an hour. Not a little proud of his protocol, the owner of Golden State says he is ready to spend $ 30 million to allow its proper application. A significant investment supposed, in the long term, to bring money to the Dubs who could therefore again begin to record income on game night. An idea that runs through the minds of several leaders as announced by Shams Charania of The Athletic on Twitter.
As of now, the NBA is expecting 5-to-10 teams to host an amount of fans in their arenas to start the 2020-21 season, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 16, 2020
Thus, between five and ten franchises would prepare behind the scenes to begin receiving visitors by the end of December. Real good news for fans hungry for popcorn and basketball even if it will probably take a big wallet to afford to attend an NBA game in the 2020-21 season. Obviously, not all the seats will be occupied and the franchises could take advantage of this to inflate the prices a little, not to mention the League’s desire to reopen the VIP boxes and the seats as soon as possible. courtside to offer a privileged experience to its most endowed fans while guaranteeing respect for barrier gestures. The name of the franchises set to open has not been made clear and they will no doubt have to pass the NBA test successfully first to ensure the formula is unstoppable.
Nobody is ready for the resumption when the franchises will have decided to erect plexiglass palisades between the field and the stands usually reserved for hockey to protect the players from a potential infection. In any case, a few lucky guys can quickly return to the rooms to make us dream during the kiss cams and just that, it’s good news.
