By Alan Snel of LVSportBiz.com
Return to normalcy. Return to packed stadiums. Return to packed arenas.
Las Vegas saw packed crowds of 18,000 or 100 percent capacity at T-Mobile Arena for recent Vegas Golden Knights playoff games. (By comparison, the Tampa Bay Lightning was expecting about 16,300, or about 85 percent capacity, for Monday’s Stanley Cup Final Game 1 at Amalie Arena Monday.)
And now Las Vegas is going for the big one less in less than two weeks — 65,000 for a Garth Brooks concert at Allegiant Stadium on July 10, the same day when another 20,000 fans will be crammed into T-Mobile Arena for UFC 264.
Besides the potential for parking problems and traffic jams in the south Strip corridor, having so many people who might not be vaccinated and not wearing masks in indoor venues could lead to COVID-19 spikes in Southern Nevada. The local health district has reported a small rise in COVID-19 test positive cases in Southern Nevada.
Tuesday UPDATE: Clark County’s COVID positivity rate passed the 5 percent mark to 5.5 percent.
Allegiant Stadium actually hosted COVID-19 vaccination clinics June 10-13, and also June 17-20. The COVID-19 vaccines were administered in the Modelo Cantina Club overlooking the football field.
Over at T-Mobile Arena not too far away, a Golden Knights fan told LVSportsBiz.com she was aware of unvaccinated fans at Knights playoff games who did not wear masks inside the arena.
LVSportsBiz.com also witnessed unmasked Golden Knights fans crammed into elevators that let off these fans at the Hyde Lounge area during the VGK playoff games against the Montreal Canadiens.
Here’s the health district’s statement on locations where people with COVID-19 might have been exposed to the virus: “The Southern Nevada Health District disease investigators/contact tracers ask people (cases) with COVID-19 about locations they visited prior to their symptom onset date or positive test result, including sports arenas like T-Mobile Arena. It is important to remember that due to the long incubation period of COVID-19 – 14 days – it is usually not possible to determine the specific location where an individual might have been exposed to COVID-19. During interviews, people might report being at multiple locations prior to testing positive for COVID-19. We encourage testing and especially vaccination for everyone age 12 and older.”
In 11 days, the Garth Brooks concert is expected to have 65,000 people inside Allegiant Stadium.
You would think the Southern Nevada Health District is holding its collective breath for 65,000 people inside a building for a concert.
As of Monday, less than 40 percent of the overall age groups are completely vaccinated in the health district:
And Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak issued this statement:
“We know that in the last year and a half, the effects of this deadly virus have not changed, but our tools to fight the virus have – we now have vaccines, which are highly effective at reducing the severity of cases, hospitalization and deaths. By working together to increase access and confidence in the vaccines, we can help bring these case numbers down and ensure our communities are healthy and safe.”
“Getting vaccinated is the best, most effective way people can protect themselves from COVID-19,” added Dr. Fermin Leguen, District Health Officer for the Southern Nevada Health District. “We are committed to working with our state and local partners to provide information, answer questions, and make sure access to the vaccines is convenient to everyone who wants them.”