New York Islanders Requiring Vaccination or Negative COVID Test to Attend Games

The New York Islanders will be requiring fans to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to attend home games this season, UBS Arena announced

Fans ages 5 and up will be required to present proof of full vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 test, the arena announced on social media. It confirmed an early report by ESPN that the Islanders would be one of eight teams requiring either or to attend home games.

The following policy applies to all upcoming show announcements & ticket on-sales until further notice. Additional information about this policy and other health & safety measures that UBS Arena is deploying is available at https://t.co/LkEc886y5S. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/7vx43a9W0A

— UBS Arena (@UBSArena) September 24, 2021

The information from the original ESPN report had come from a memo that had been circulating around the 32 NHL teams.

No protocols have been announced for any of the team’s three home preseason games taking place at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport. The New York Islanders first preseason game in Connecticut is on Oct. 2.

There was no mention of fans 12 and under needing to war masks and provide proof of a negative COVID test, which had been originally mentioned in the ESPN report.

The memo does state that the NHL expects to open the season with 30 of its 32 arenas at 100 percent capacity.

The New York Islanders continue to remain on high alert against COVID-19. The organization is still conducting daily testing and its players are only being made available to the media via Zoom to start the season.

General manager Lou Lamoriello also told reporters on Tuesday that no unvaccinated players would be allowed to play this season for the Islanders. The team did have one player who did not get vaccinated, Bode Wilde, and they are looking at placing him in Europe to play.

“We respect everybody who has their choice, the freedom of choice, which Bode exercised in terms of the vaccination,” Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said on Thursday. “We respect that. I do know this, he’s going to play hockey and we’re just trying to find him the best place that he can continue to develop.”