The St. Louis Blues will allow a limited number of ticketed fans to attend games starting on Feb. 2 when the team hosts the Arizona Coyotes.
The team announced Wednesday that they will increase attendance to 1,400 people for the next homestand in co-operation with St. Louis' department of health.
Previously, the Blues invited healthcare workers, first responders, grocery store workers and other local frontline workers to each home game to show their appreciation. Families and friends of players, hockey staff, team employees and essential personnel were also allowed in the arena.
The Blues say the success of the team’s implementation of local and NHL safety protocols at home so far this season allowed for the increase in attendee capacity.
Fans will be seated in pods of two to four seats on the Plaza Level of Enterprise Center. Suites will also be operational.
In accordance with health and safety protocols, all tickets are mobile-only, face coverings must be worn at all times, bags are no longer permitted and the arena is operating as cash-free.
The team says future increases in the number of fans at home games "will be determined by ongoing evaluation of the safety measures and continued improvement in key local COVID-19 metrics."
