The NHL Panthers are one of only three NHL teams that are "permitting fans back into arenas for the start of this season," and the team has worked with political officials in Broward County, Fla., on "every logistic, every plan, every detail on the way to making the return of fans a reality," according to Tim Reynolds of the AP. But attendance has been a "punch line, not a selling point," for the Panthers for "almost the entirety of their existence." They have been "among the NHL’s bottom 10 teams in attendance in each of the last 14 seasons." The Panthers averaged 3,907 fans in their first two games against the Blackhawks earlier this week, and though the building is only "about 20% filled -- for now, that’s about the limit" -- the team "believe those who are there have brought a boost of energy." BB&T Center was the first NHL arena to "achieve the International WELL Building Institute’s top Health-Safety Rating for Facility Operations and Management," which measures cleaning procedures, emergency preparedness, air quality and water quality. Due to the pandemic, a front office that used to "spend most of its days talking about hockey" now has meetings about "things like air flow and the latest numbers on how much fresh air can get into the building in a certain amount of time" (AP, 1/20).
