Enterprise Center (US) greeted a limited number of invited frontline workers, along with the families and friends of players, hockey staff, team employees and essential personnel, when the professional ice hockey team St. Louis Blues opened their first home stand on January 18th against the fellow ice hockey team San Jose Sharks.
Enterprise Center is an 18,096-seat arena located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Its primary tenant is the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL), but it is also used for other functions, such as National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball, NCAA hockey, concerts, professional wrestling and more.
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League as a member of the Central Division of the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the six teams from the 1967 NHL expansion and is named after the Western Conference.
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League as a member of the West Division. The franchise is owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainment Enterprises.
The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America, currently comprising 31 teams: 24 in the United States and 7 in Canada.
The home opener, presented by BJC HealthCare and Washington University Physicians, included a special dedication puck drop honoring frontline workers and the heroic work the bravehearts have done for the community in the last 10 months as coronavirus continues to twirl the United States in its fatal eddy.
Stated Blues President of Business Operations/CEO Chris Zimmerman, “It’s good news for everyone that Blues hockey is back home at Enterprise Center. We are proud to welcome this group of local heroes as our guests to the arena as a way to express our admiration and appreciation for their selfless work to keep the St. Louis area healthy and safe.”
The team worked with the local healthcare systems, as well as public safety organizations, and identified and invited a small number of frontline workers who will be in attendance at all January home games. This invited group sat in socially-distanced seating pods throughout the Plaza Level of the arena.
The Blues continue to call upon the expertise and guidance of health and safety officials from the City of St. Louis to determine the best way out to welcome supporters back to the Enterprise Center fold, with small groups of fewer than 300 people being identified as the safest and most responsible way to start the season.
Enterprise Center brought about operational changes and adopted new health and safety protocols over the past several months to provide guests a safe, secure and enjoyable environment. Among the changes, face coverings has been made a ‘must must’ for all guests and staff, bags will no longer be permitted and Enterprise Center has now gone totally cashless at concessions and retail locations.
Fans will be able to make their presence known at Enterprise Center to celebrate the start of the season with the Fan Cutout program. The program, announced on January 11th, allows fans to purchase a cardboard cutout of themselves, family members or pets, which will be placed in the stands of the venue during the season.
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