The directors of the Fife Flyers have stated that they should have no issues club filling every seat this season as crowd limitations for indoor events have now been loosened.
After a difficult few months for sports clubs across the UK and the world, things are finally returning to normal. This season, crowd restrictions for indoor events have now been lifted, meaning that ice hockey clubs around the country will be able to welcome back hordes of passionate fans. Fife Flyers, along with other clubs in the Elite Ice Hockey League, will be able to perform once more in front of their fans.
The Elite Ice Hockey League has recently announced key dates for the 2021/22 season, which will mark the return of a full top-flight ice hockey season to the United Kingdom. League games will begin on September 25th and 26th, 2022, and will continue until the Playoff Finals Weekend on April 23rd and 24th, 2022. While you wait for the new season to begin, you can enjoy some online casino action. Players can find details of the best first deposit bonuses at the casinos and enjoy some exciting real money gambling action.
The Fife Flyers are the oldest professional ice hockey club in the UK, having first been established in 1938. Playing their home games at Fife Ice Arena in Kirkcaldy, the Flyers will be looking for a fresh start when the new season gets underway in September. Previously, crowd restrictions on indoor events had meant that games in the 2020/21 season weren’t possible, leading to the season being cancelled.
The Fife Flyers’ position on their return was predicated on the assumption that all limitations would be removed before the first puck dropped on September 25-26, as planned. Previously, attendance was regulated at 400, which would have made holding events at Fife Ice Arena, with its capacity of 3000, untenable. Current limitations allow for up to 2,000 attendees at indoor events, which would work for the club.
However, there are caveats to these new rules. The first of which is that any indoor event must show that it has the proper plans in place to safely manage the entrance and exit of crowds. Fife council will need to attend and check that the right measures are being implemented to keep fans safe. At the moment, it’s unclear how exactly this will work and who will be responsible for the club applying to the local authority for an even licence for each home game.
The Fife Flyers benefit from a big catchment area and have a decent-sized arena that can potentially generate excellent revenue from ticket and merchandise sales. However, in recent years, the team has struggled to fill the arena to capacity. Recent seasons have seen a series of poor performances from the Flyers, and fans have been unwilling to attend in large numbers. If the Flyers want to see big crowds once more, they’ll need to get back to their winning ways.
It’s also unclear how long the current 2,000 capacity limit will stay in place. This measure has been enacted by the Scottish government to curtail any possible infection outbreaks, but it may change at any time. Once the season gets underway, it’s possible that crowd sizes will be restricted once more or those restrictions will be lifted completely.
The directors of Fife Flyers, Mr. Muir and Mr. Wishart, had the following to say about the changes and the upcoming season. “We must ensure that hockey in Fife is a safe environment for everyone. Ice hockey in Fife is just not the same without the backing of our fans. It is no secret we rely on getting bodies through the front doors on match nights, and so we are making plans to ensure we can have a full capacity crowd every single night of the season this year.
