Unleash the Caniacs: More hockey fans will be allowed at PNC Arena in time for Game 1
The Carolina Hurricanes will have a larger-than-expected home-ice advantage in the Stanley Cup playoffs, though exactly how much larger is still in question.
This much we do know: Gov. Roy Cooper announced Friday that effective immediately he was lifting several of the state’s COVID-19 restrictions, including those on indoor capacities and social distancing, effectively opening the door for the Hurricanes to bring as many fans into PNC Arena as NHL regulations will allow. PNC Arena can normally seat 18,680 for hockey.
Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said Friday the team was still discussing with the NHL how many fans the team would initially be allowed to host, but that NHL ventilation standards would still limit PNC to about 12,000 fans until the team can bring in additional HVAC and dehumidifying equipment.
Waddell said the team had already started that process, but it would take about 10-14 days to procure and install. The Hurricanes open the playoffs on Monday against the Nashville Predators.
“We are working with the NHL,” Waddell said. “Now that we know what the state requirements are, which are unlimited, we have to work with the NHL ... to talk about what they allow us to do. It’s all about airflow in the building.”
The state’s previous restrictions limited indoor arenas to 50 percent of capacity — at PNC Arena, about 9,000 — but state social-distancing requirements limited the Hurricanes to 4,987 since the latest loosening of restrictions in late March.
By utilizing more suites and creating bigger pods of fans within the stands, the Hurricanes were set to bump that to about 6,000 for the first-round series with the Predators.
But that changed Friday with Cooper’s announcement.
The Predators were set to have about 14,000 fans for their home playoff games at Bridgestone Arena, which was a concern for Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour, who said that would be a big advantage for the Predators.
North Carolina’s COVID capacity restrictions were to be loosened June 1, Cooper had said, but the state rejected the Hurricanes’ request to allow more fans in the arena in the two weeks of playoff hockey before then.
“We’ve spent a lot of money and a lot of time making sure we did it right,” Waddell told the N&O this week. “We think we can do it right if we increase attendance. From our customers, the only complaints we’ve gotten is when someone doesn’t have their mask on all the time and that’s just going to be an ongoing thing anyway.
“We’ve sent out surveys asking if people feel safe in the building. We’ve got the cleaning crews going up and down cleaning the handrails. The restrooms are manned. We’re doing everything we can to prove not only to the state but to our customers we have the best environment we can.”
Staff writer Luke DeCock contributed to this report.
