Celtics prepare for the return of fans at TD Garden

Per order of Gov. Charlie Baker, Boston’s teams can start admitting fans on March 22, and few kinds of outside help could mean more to a struggling Celtics team right now.

“Three words — ’bout (bleeping) time,” Tristan Thompson, who still only knows the Garden crowd from the perspective of a hated opponent, said during Friday’s shootaround prior to a game against Indiana.

“That’s one reason I wanted to join this organization, because of how amazing their fans are and their fan base,” he said. “Of course we’re limited to 12% or whatever the number is, so I know that will be the strongest 12% there is in the league cheering for us every night. And having them back in the arena will bring that extra energy for us, and give us that boost that we want and need sometimes during the game. I’m extremely excited, and as the weeks and months continue the virus settles down a little bit and the vaccine gets going, we can get a higher percentage into the arena.”

The state is allowing 12% capacity inside buildings to begin, which in the case of Celtics games means 2,300 fans. Though there is a chance, again depending on Baker, that capacity will be increased once the playoffs start the third week of May. That’s when Thompson may be able to hear some intensified noise.

Celtics president Rich Gotham would certainly appreciate the change, after watching games to the sound of fake crowd noise this season.

Thinking back to a Saturday night game on Jan. 30 against the Lakers, Gotham said that these premium games just aren’t the same without the audience.

“It just didn’t feel right,” said Gotham. “Here we are playing the Lakers on a Saturday night, on national TV, and I’m sitting there with Sully (chief marketing officer Shawn Sullivan), Danny (Ainge), Mike (Zarren) and (director of player development) Allison Feaster, and nobody else except the players. It just didn’t feel right.”

The Celtics will play their first game with fans on March 29 against New Orleans. There will be lots of opportunity over the next two weeks, with this game kicking off a seven-game homestand, the longest of the season.

Season-ticket holders will have priority, and a rotation has already been established to spread tickets over that group.

Fans can be no closer than 30 feet to the players — anyone closer has to be tested — and for now front-row seats are a relative matter. The closest fans will sit along the perimeter behind the hockey boards, minus the plexiglass.

Fans will sit in so-called “pods,” accommodating either two or four fans together. Fans will be texted prior to the game with information on what gate to report to. COVID protocols — the usual slate of questions — will be observed, though no one will have their temperature taken.

Concessions will operate on a non-contact basis, and fans will be kept in respective “neighborhoods,” which will include the concessions in the area directly behind them.

“We hope it’s a good, safe launch, and hopefully the (COVID) numbers in the outside environment continue to improve,” said Gotham. “Then we hope that in time that 12% goes up, and we have more people in the stands for the playoffs. But we’ll continue to rely on the state’s science.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3dRFQGc