San Jose Sharks officially relocate first two home games to Arizona
The Sharks officially announced Saturday that because of Santa Clara County’s ongoing ban on indoor or outdoor contact sports, they are relocating their first two scheduled home games from SAP Center in San Jose to Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
The team’s first two games as the home team are scheduled for Feb. 1 and 3 against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Sharks said in a statement that they will partner with Gila River Arena and the Arizona Coyotes to facilitate the games.
“We feel that we have put significant precautions in place, including daily COVID-19 testing of the athletes and support staff, to allow for us to safely return to play games at SAP Center, while not exposing the community to any additional health risk,” Sharks President Jonathan Becher said in a statement. “In our discussions with County officials over the past several months, we have shared our detailed return-to-play plans and are hopeful that we can find practical solutions to this difficult situation very soon.”
The Sharks said the Feb. 1 game will be played at 6 p.m. PST and the Feb. 3 game, nationally televised on NBCSN, will start at 7:30 p.m. PST.
It remains undetermined whether fans will be allowed to attend.
The Sharks next set of home games are scheduled for Feb. 13 and 15 against the Anaheim Ducks. The location of those games will be announced at a future date.
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