February 21, 2021: Molly joins Sportscaster Damon Amendolara on The DA Show (CBS Radio) to discuss the return of fans. Click for audio/video Interview
As the sports world rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic, fans are starting to slowly return to the arenas & stadiums. Sports marketing executive Molly Arbogast joined The D.A. Show on Tuesday to give us an idea on what is next.
“I think that I am very optimistic at this point that we're going to start to see strong numbers of fans in venues across the country as early as April. I really do feel that way. And you know, I hear rumblings down the hallways of different League offices and team offices of what they're trying to achieve in different leagues. I think that the return to normal it's here. It's coming. We're about to turn the corner.”
Arbogast is optimistic on the return of capacity crowds by the fall. “I think every other league is looking at the NFL going ‘please be full’ because if the NFL is full it means the NBA, NHL, MLB…it opens up all this opportunity in Q4 to go to full venue with fans, but I think there's going to be temperature checks and I think we're going to see masks potentially in venue, potentially as late as the end of Q4 of this year, just out of an abundance of caution.”
The COVID-19 vaccine and how specific areas are doing will play a big part in fans returning to the games. “It will depend on where that community is in terms of daily rates and things like that, but I think as we get into Q4 of this year, I think we'll be shoulder to shoulder again.”