A new Ontario rule will force the Toronto Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators to limit home-game seating capacity to 50% beginning Saturday. Ontario unveiled the rule Wednesday, and it marks the first seating-capacity limit among NBA and NHL teams this season.
The rule, which intends to slow the spread of COVID-19, applies to any Ontario indoor venue with capacity for 1,000-plus people. That means 17 of the Ontario Hockey League's 20 teams will limit their seating capacity as well.
"Sports games, large concerts – people aren't masking as much as (organizers) implore them to mask," Ontario premier Doug Ford said, per Sportsnet. "They all aren't masking. You're sitting side by side for hours. Compared to a restaurant, that's comparing apples and bananas as far as I'm concerned, not even apples and oranges."
This move comes a season after all Canadian NHL teams played solely in Canada and barred fans during the regular season, though some allowed limited crowds during the playoffs. Border restrictions forced the Raptors to play their 2020-21 campaign in Tampa, Florida, and the move contributed to the club missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
"This measure is being taken to reduce opportunities for close contact in high-risk indoor settings with large crowds and when masks are not always worn," the Ontario government said Wednesday in a media release.
The first game Ontario's new rule will impact is Saturday's matchup between the Raptors and a Golden State Warriors squad with the newly-crowned 3-point king, Stephen Curry. Ottawa will first play under the new rule in a Dec. 19 game against the Boston Bruins while the Maple Leafs will follow suit against the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 23.
