Good news for the Nets and Knicks' playoff runs: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that the state will increase capacity limits at museums, zoos, movie theaters and indoor arenas within the next few weeks, with indoor arenas moving to 25 percent capacity as of May 19.
“May 19 is not a random date. We’ve been speaking with the teams,” he explained. “We’re optimistic, and that would be a time when playoffs would begin.”
That will mean crowds of roughly 3,500 at Nassau Coliseum, 4,400 at Barclays Center, and 4,500 to 5,000 at MSG (lower for hockey, higher for basketball). As Cuomo noted, May 19 is not a random date, as the NHL and NBA regular seasons both end shortly before May 19 - meaning the new capacities would be in place for any playoff action at any of the three local arenas.
The state reported 44 new COVID-19-related fatalities and a 2.94 percent infection rate on Monday, Cuomo said, allowing for these restrictions to be reduced.
“The numbers are stable and going down, right? So we can start to open up more economic activity,” the Governor said.