NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Attendees of Predators games or any Bridgestone Arena event will need to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test beginning Oct. 2.
Arena officials made the announcement Monday. Fans must be fully vaccinated or have a negative result within 72 hours of the event.
Guests 12 years old or younger must wear a mask at all times, or provide a negative COVID test.
The new policy will remain in place through at least Nov. 15. An announcement will be made at the beginning of each month reaffirming or altering procedures and protocols for the next 75 days.
"Throughout the pandemic, we have been consistent in stating that the health and wellness of all arena guests, Predators fans, our employees, players and performers is our number one priority," said Sean Henry, President and CEO of Bridgestone Arena and the Nashville Predators. "Just two months ago, we believed that we were returning to a sense of normalcy, but unfortunately, with the impact of the delta variant, that has not been the case. We are united with health care professionals in our belief that the only way to end this pandemic is to get more people vaccinated. "To that end, we want to do our part with these policies to make sure that our game and event attendees are as safe as possible and, at the same time, we will use our public platform to amplify the message of the importance of vaccines in hopes of encouraging more people to get vaccinated."
Metro Public Health officials say this is a momentous move by Bridgestone Arena, a move they hope will encourage people living in Tennessee counties outside of Nashville -- with much lower vaccination rates -- to get vaccinated.
"Hopefully we'll even see more people from out of the county get the vaccine because they want to go to one of these events," said Brian Todd with Metro Public Health.
Specific details related to how the process of collecting information will work as well as a FAQ related to the new protocols are available here.
