The Pittsburgh Penguins are exploring ways to bring more fans back to PPG Paints Arena.
In a letter to season ticket holders, team president and CEO David Morehouse said to do that, they're considering vaccinated and unvaccinated sections at games.
Governor Tom Wolf confirmed Wednesday the team petitioned the state about the idea, but would not confirm if the state will approve it.
"Actually, the Penguins, they originally wanted to have games with just people who are vaccinated," Wolf said. "Now, they want to separate them. One of the things that was in the CDC guidelines was that you still got to be careful even if you've been vaccinated and even if you're in the outdoors if you're at a crowded event."
Wolf said the safest way to bring more fans back is an issue many teams are facing.
"We've got close to 50 percent of Pennsylvanians who have gotten the first dose," he said. "What can they do right now? It's a work in progress."
Currently, the Penguins are allowing about 5,000 fans into PPG Paints Arena for each game, which is about 25 percent capacity.
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald says he's on board with creating vaccinated and unvaccinated sections at the arena.
"Now that we're getting two thirds of the population with at least one shot in arm and a significant amount of people who have been vaccinated, those folks can feel safe if they're together," Fitzgerald said during Allegheny County's weekly COVID-19 briefing Wednesday. "They don't need to be six feet apart. They don't need to be wearing their mask. Everybody that's been vaccinated in an area can be together."
Fitzgerald encouraged all larger venues in Allegheny County to consider creating vaccinated and unvaccinated sections, and said the County is considering it for their Summer Concert Series.