One Canadian team looking to flee to the USA amid fan restrictions
When the Ontario Government put in new COVID restrictions on December 19th, 2021 it meant all Ontario based sports teams were forced to play their home games in empty arenas with zero fans. Even today Ontario based teams are only allowed to accommodate 500 fans per night under the current restrictions. This is something that the Senators have embraced publicly using that Jumbotron to make light of the situation.
The NHL attempted to move as many games as possible around to accommodate the lockdowns, but that still meant the Senators would be forced to host 11 games at nearly zero capacity.
The government's capacity limit is set to rise to 50% from February 22nd to March 14th, a period when the Senators are scheduled to play 4 more home games. Those restrictions essentially remove full capacity limits from almost 36% of the Senators revenue.
According to NHL Insider, Elliotte Friedman, while the Senators might be accepting publicly, the team has done everything in their power to flee Ontario. During today's All Star Game, Friedman shared the Ottawa Senators and owner Eugene Melnyk looked for a way to flee Ontario.
It doesn't sound like those attempts will be successful, but it's clear these restrictions have taken a toll on everyone and even the Ottawa Senators at this point are looking to turn tail and run to a market that would allow them to generate revenue.
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