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Washington DC venues set for full reopening in June

Capacity limits on sports venues in Washington DC are set to be lifted on June 11 as the US capital begins to ease its COVID-19 restrictions amid lower infection rates and continued vaccination roll-out.

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced yesterday that restrictions on public and commercial activity, including capacity limits, will be lifted on May 21, although bars, nightclubs and large sports and entertainment venues will not be included. For venues that cannot fully reopen on May 21, capacity limits and restrictions will be lifted on June 11.

The easing of restrictions will enable Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals and Major League Soccer’s DC United to welcome capacity crowds back to Nationals Park (pictured) and Audi Field, respectively.

Capital One Arena, home of the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals, will also benefit from the full reopening if the teams make the end-of-season playoffs. Mask wearing will still be required.

The NFL’s Washington Football Team had already announced plans to open FedEx Field at full capacity from next season, which begins in September.

The Nationals and DC United have been granted permission to open their stadiums at 36% capacity from Friday ahead of the full reopening on June 11. Capital One Arena’s capacity will also increase from 10% to 25% for Wizards and Capitals games.

In other news, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that Nassau Coliseum, home of the NHL’s New York Islanders, will have a fully vaccinated fan section for the team’s play-off games, which are set to begin next week.

Half of the Coliseum will be used as a fully vaccinated fan section with attendees spaced approximately three feet apart. Fans seated in these sections will have to provide proof of full COVID-19 immunisation status.

Elsewhere in the NHL, the Nashville Predators have been given the green light to open Bridgestone Arena at 70% capacity for upcoming playoff games.

Image: AgnosticPreachersKid/CC BY-SA 4.0/Edited for size

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