Leafs and Raptors seating capacity cut in half as MLSE complies with Ontario COVID mandate

With a growing number of Omicron variant cases on the rise in Ontario, the province put in place some new restrictions today, most notably from a sports perspective, a restriction on the capacity for Leafs and Raptors games…

How the Raptors and Leafs will go about identifying the 50% of ticket holders that will in all likelihood need their tickets either refunded or rainchecked remains to be seen. That’s going to be the logistics nightmare that is alluded to in the tweets, and I have to say that I am truly feeling for all of the front line customer service personnel that are about the experience the full wrath of Toronto sports fans through no fault of their own. (PLEASE, I BEG YOU, BE NICE TO THESE PEOPLE. THEY ARE NOT AT FAULT.)

With the Leafs on the road until the 23rd, there is a bit of time to get things sorted out, but given that the game on the 23rd is the Next Gen game, which typically means more kids in attendance, there is also an increased level of disappointment associated with this restriction, that again is being made in the interest of public health.

Following Christmas the Leafs have a homestand from the 29th through January 5th with four games during that period, before departing again until January 17th. How long these restrictions will be in place isn’t certain, but it’s probably a safe assumption that homestand could be affected.

Hopefully through safe practices, increased vaccinations, and responsible decision making the capacity restrictions will not be a long term thing.