Senators expect capacity crowds to be allowed to start NHL season
The Ottawa Senators say they expect to be able to host capacity crowds when the NHL regular season starts next month.
Fans will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and wear masks when they return to the Canadian Tire Centre, the team said in a news release Friday afternoon.
Ontario’s current rules limit indoor spectator sporting events to 50 per cent of the usual seating capacity or 1,000 people, whichever is less. That would cap the number of fans at the CTC at 1,000.
But the Senators said Friday they expect to be allowed to fill the building for the team’s home opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs a month from now. The building’s capacity is 19,153.
“It is the organization’s expectation, based upon its full compliance with provincial requirements, that Canadian Tire Centre will have the ability to welcome full capacity for opening night on Oct. 14,” the release said.
The team is set to welcome fans back in the building for the first time in 18 months next Saturday, Sept. 18, for a rookie game against the Montreal Canadiens.
The team’s mandatory vaccination policy will take effect that day. Fans will require proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and must bring photo ID.
The Senators also announced Friday that single-game tickets will be available starting Wednesday at 10 a.m.—earlier for season ticket holders and Sens insiders.
The provincial vaccination certificates start Sept. 22, but the Senators are joining other sports teams across Canada in requiring proof before then.
The Senators are the last Canadian NHL team to release a vaccination policy. The team says it will continue to provide updates on venue capacity, entry requirements and ‘facility enhancements’ at the Canadian Tire Centre.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.