The New York Knicks are tied 1-1 with the Atlanta Hawks right now and heading to Atlanta for games 3 and 4 against the Hawks, but they may have just got a bit more incentive to win the series.
The Knicks will almost certainly have a packed house with no socially distanced seating if they can move on in the playoffs.
The team announced on Friday that they’d be selling tickets to vaccinated fans exclusively if they beat the Atlanta Hawks and move on into the second round of the playoffs.
That means the team would be able to fill every seat in the building.
You'll need to be vaccinated to attend a Knicks playoff game at MSG if Knicks get out of the first round. Knicks announce they'll sell tickets "exclusively" to vaccinated fans after first round. pic.twitter.com/U1WCLE6BKo
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) May 28, 2021
As fun as this sounds, it’s also pretty nerve-wracking. A full house in the middle of a pandemic — vaccinated or not — just sounds like a bit much. And there are so many questions about it, too.
The biggest one, obviously, is how is this even enforceable? There are a few answers.
The Knicks currently have a policy in place that requires three things for entry: Proof of vaccination, proof of a negative antigen test done within 6 hours of the game or proof of a negative PCR test within 72 hours of the game. Without one of those, you can’t get in.
It’ll be the same if they make the second round, but exclusively for vaccinated folks.
There’s also, apparently, a way to scan a barcode and make sure someone is vaccinated in New York via an Excelsior Pass.
there kinda is in NY! https://t.co/VkfzZPUYYM
— Seth Rosenthal (@seth_rosenthal) May 28, 2021
It’d be nice to see a packed house for the first time in forever. But I’d be lying if I said this didn’t feel like it was too soon.
Hopefully, it all works out.
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