Things are changing quickly in terms of capacities in Pennsylvania during the pandemic. They may change even more quickly if the Pittsburgh Penguins get a request granted.
On an episode of “The Pomp and Poni Podcast,” Penguins CEO David Morehouse joined KDKA’s Bob Pompeani and 93.7 The Fan’s Andrew Fillipponi to talk about the team and the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
For Games 1 and 2, the Penguins will require masks for fans and employees and have capacities of 25% and 50%, respectively, Morehouse said. But if the series with the New York Islanders goes longer than four games, it may be a different set of guidelines.
“Between now and Tuesday, things may change. For right now, that’s where it is,” Morehouse said. “I don’t know if we have the capacity to go from 50 to 100 in that short of a time, the way that the seats are manifested and the way we try to have them spaced out. But we’re looking to try to go to 100% by Game 5.”
Read: Penguins announce mask guidelines to remain for the postseason
The Penguins will play Game 1 on Sunday and Game 2 on Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena. If necessary, the series would return to Pittsburgh for a potential Game 5 on May 24 and Game 7 on May 28.
Current covid mitigation restrictions have indoor capacity, for venues like PPG Paints Arena, at maximum of 25%. Gov. Tom Wolf announced this week that indoor capacity would be increased to 50% starting Monday. Wolf had previously announced that on Memorial Day, covid restrictions would be lifted in the state, minus the mask mandate (which would be lifted if/when 70% of Pennsylvanians 18 and older are fully vaccinated).
With the CDC’s announcement Thursday, the agency eased masking requirements for fully vaccinated people in most settings but still suggested wearing a mask in crowdedindoor settings. Pennsylvania updated its mask guidelines to fall in line with the CDC and will remove the mandate once 70% of adults are fully vaccinated. Pennsylvania currently has 47.6% of adults fully vaccinated and 67% of adults with at least one dose.
Morehouse said on the podcast that members of the Penguins organizations were on calls with the state and NHL legal department about masking and capacity limits.
“We’re reviewing this as we go,” he said. “We’re looking at this hard. It’s complicated. We’re sticking with the plan for Game 1 and 2, but we’re excited about the possibility of going to 100%.“
