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Heat Spent Months Developing Plan For COVID-Sniffing Dogs

The Heat have been "working on the plan for months" to use coronavirus-sniffing dogs at AmericanAirlines Arena, and the highly trained dogs "have been in place for some games this season where the team has allowed a handful of guests," according to Tim Reynolds of the AP. The Heat will keep attendance "under 2,000 for now, or less than 10% of the arena's typical capacity." The coronavirus-sniffing dog idea "has been put into place at airports in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Helsinki, Finland, in recent months." If a fan is "allergic to or afraid of dogs," the team is "offering an option to skip the dog screening and submit to a rapid antigen test instead." The Heat said that those tests "can be processed in less than 45 minutes" (AP, 1/24).

PLAN IN PLACE: The Hawks are introducing their “Safety Six” protocols to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 as the team prepares for the return of fans to State Farm Arena. Developed with input from experts in healthcare, live events, hospitality and food service, the approach includes:

  • Limited capacity and physical distancing.
  • Mandatory face coverings.
  • Contactless entry, screening and transactions.
  • Touchless hand sanitizer stations and restroom fixtures.
  • Robust cleaning and disinfecting procedures.
  • Safe food and beverage distribution practices.

The arena will welcome back a limited number of fans tomorrow tonight with a reduced capacity of approximately 8% and social distancing in all arena spaces, including premium, back-of-house areas, and restrooms. Face coverings will be required at all times in all arena spaces. There are plexiglass dividers at concession areas and some seating areas as well as restricted concourse gathering (Hawks).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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