Local entertainment venues scrambling to accommodate new capacity limits
As of Saturday at 12:01 a.m., new limits of 50 per cent capacity will be implemented at indoor entertainment venues, sports stadiums and event spaces with an indoor capacity of greater than 1,000 people.
This means London Knights hockey games and various concerts at Budweiser Gardens will have fewer people in the seats as Ontario reduces capacity limits to combat the new Omicron variant.
Budweiser Gardens can hold up to 10,500 -- this latest restriction is a big hit.
“A lot of phone calls, a lot of texting, a lot of conversations to try and figure out different options,” says Brian Ohl, general manager of Budweiser Gardens.
Ohl says they’ve been scrambling since Wednesday's announcement, working with the London Knights, event promoters and artist management to try and come up with different scenarios that make sense for the patrons, artist and the venue.
“We went to 100 per cent capacity, we thought 'OK we’re through it,' that was prior to the latest variant. You know we’re just trying to deal with things as they come,” adds Ohl.
As of right now, Bud Gardens and the London Knights do not have an answer for ticket holders wonderinf if they'll be able to attend upcoming games.
In a statement to CTV News London the Knights said, “We are reviewing the situation to do the best we can for our fans and community.”
Once the best course of action is figured out, ticket holders will be notified with options.
Bud Gardens isn’t the only venue in the city affected.
“We will be greatly impacted by the new restrictions,” says vice-president of Operations for the London Music Hall, Demetri Manuel.
The London Music Hall can hold up to 1,930 patrons, and now they are trying to cut that number down to accommodate the new rules.
“We are either going to have to refund some concerts, and then we are going to have to talk to the bands, to see if it’s worth it for them to come into the market, if it’s worth it for them and if it’s worth it for us,” said Manuel.
Meanwhile, Jones Entertainment Group, which operates Centennial Hall, says they are focusing on 2022.
In a statement to CTV News London, the company said, “We have 18 events scheduled for February. We are watching closely, to see if they’ll need to be cancelled or capacity reduced.”
All the venues say they hope these restrictions don’t last for too long. After being shut down for the majority of the year, they do not want to be financially impacted again.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.