Heat increasing capacity at AmericanAirlines Arena to 17,000 for NBA playoffs
The Miami Heat announced Saturday that attendance at AmericanAirlines Arena will be increased to 17,000 for the playoffs, more than twice the capacity originally established by the NBA for the team in the postseason.
The Heat last week had announced playoff capacity for the 19,600-seat facility alongside Biscayne Bay would be capped at 8,600, due to ongoing pandemic concerns, after the team completed the regular season with an attendance limit of 5,700.
The move by the Heat aligns with similar moves by other NBA teams for the playoffs, amid reduced recommended protocols by the Centers for Disease Control.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said before Saturday’s playoff opener against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum that it was an encouraging development.
“I think that’d be exciting for the fans, for our players, the organization,” he said. “You just start to see more and more signs that things are coming around. It brings you a great deal of hope, just in general. I think it’s a great thing.”
The Heat began the admission process during the earlier stages of the coronavirus pandemic with tight restrictions for attendance, including the use of COVID-detection dogs, a practice that since has been eliminated.
The new capacity will be in place beginning Thursday, when the Heat host the Bucks in Game 3 of their best-of-seven first-round series, and will remain in place for all remaining playoff games.
As a result of the increase, additional tickets will go on sale to the general public Monday at 4:00 p.m. via Ticketmaster.com.
Although the increase in capacity means the Heat are no longer required to employ physical distancing between seats, other health and safety protocols remain in place, including the requirement to wear masks throughout the Arena when not eating and/or drinking while seated in the bowl or in designated food and beverage areas.
The team’s ongoing health-and-safety protocols for those attending can be found at HEAT.com/FanSafety.
The team noted that, “Fans who purchased tickets but who no longer want to attend the game due to the removal of the physical distancing requirement may request a refund for their tickets via their place of purchase.”
Tickets from the NBA’s additional allowance will be made available first to season-ticket holders, with those fans receiving communication directly from the team outlining their options.
“This last-minute approval to increase our capacity comes after we have already sold tickets for the first three home games of round one of the playoffs,” Heat president Eric Woolworth said in a statement. “We realize this may be an inconvenience to some fans who have already purchased tickets, and we apologize for that, but we believe strongly that we owe it to our players to provide the best homecourt advantage for them to compete in the playoffs.”
Additionally, as part of the team’s partnership with Florida Blue, the Heat will be offering Moderna COVID-19 vaccinations to those in attendance. The Heat previously held a vaccination event on the arena floor at the close of the regular season.
The Bucks set their home capacity at 50 percent capacity, about 9,000, for Saturday’s game.
“Obviously, it’s a great sign for our country and just everybody at large and in general, that we’re making progress, were moving in the right direction,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said of increased capacity around the league. “Still, there’s a lot of work to be done with the virus and with COVID.”
