New Jersey Devils games just weren’t the same this year. The team obviously wasn’t very good, which impacted the crowds, but the Devils actually sold every possible seat this season. Unfortunately, they were only allowing about 2,800 fans in the building per game. The Prudential Center is usually packed with about 50,000 fans per week, but the Devils only had 53,900 fans through the turnstiles at The Rock all season long.
After New Jersey’s announcement on Monday, that should change drastically. Governor Phil Murphy says that all outdoor venues can open to full capacity with no social distancing or mask requirements starting on Friday. Indoor venues can enjoy the same rules one week later.
Obviously, everything was moving towards this, but a confirmation is always nice. The Devils don’t play another home game for more than four months. But to have a confirmation that the Prudential Center can once again fill to the roof with Devils fans shows we are so close to getting sports back to normal again.
New Jersey was one of the more restrictive states when the coronavirus pandemic began. They had high death rates and crazy case rates as it seemed to be one of the first places the virus spread like wildfire. That was more than a year ago, and things have been different ever since.
Now, normal seems so close. Every announcement made by Governor Murphy shows the state coming back to normal, and the Devils can now be a part of that normal.
This is obviously going to impact the summer concert series much more than it will Devils games, but this is welcomed news that we can all celebrate.