Planning to return to the arena for a Miami Heat game? Here is what fans can expect
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed a lot. The Miami Heat fan experience at AmericanAirlines Arena is included on that list.
The Heat is on track to increase the number of fans allowed to attend games at AmericanAirlines Arena to about 4,000 starting with Thursday’s matchup against the Golden State Warriors. But that’s still just about 20 percent of the building’s usual capacity of 19,600.
That cut in capacity has altered what it’s like to attend Heat home games this season, and it’s also the foundation of the strict COVID-19 health and safety guidelines established in an effort to create a safe and clean environment. Starting Thursday, the Heat will also become the first team in the NBA to have sections of seats designated for fully vaccinated fans only.
“Curious to what it will be like to watch a game with a few thousand people in an arena for 20,000,” fan Jerry Garavel said before walking into AmericanAirlines Arena to watch the Heat take on the Phoenix Suns on March 23.
ARRIVAL
The changes to the Heat fan experience start from the moment you arrive. Drive around the back of the arena to the P2 garage on the South side and a masked parking attendant is waiting to scan a digital parking pass with hand sanitizer not too far away.
Upon parking, it’s time to put on a mask and enter the building. Gates 1 and 5 are open for the general public, with COVID-19-sniffing dogs waiting to screen fans. Arena doors open one hour before tipoff.
When the Heat first allowed fans to attend home games this season in late January, the lines of those waiting to be cleared by the dogs to enter the arena were long. But the process has since become much more efficient as the organization and arena employees have worked through the kinks, and fans have begun arriving a little earlier as encouraged by the Heat.
How does it work? Groups of about 10 to 15 fans stand on socially distanced dots placed on the floor to form a line outside the AmericanAirlines Arena entrance. The dogs then walk past the line, with each person keeping their hands by their sides.
If the dog keeps going, the fan is cleared.
But if the dog sits next to an individual, that’s a signal it detects COVID-19 and the fan and their group will not be allowed to enter the arena. Those fans will be eligible for either a refund, a credit or will be offered tickets of equal value to a future game if the ticket was purchased directly from the team or Ticketmaster.com.
“We just learned to be a little bit more efficient on our end,” Heat chief marketing officer Michael McCullough said of the entry process. “Sometimes that’s a lot of things that people just can’t see behind the scenes, as far as how you cue lines and that sort of thing.
“But I think the fans really did heed the call to arrive early, especially the ones who went and came back. They understood, ‘OK, now I understand how long it’s going to take me to get through.’ So all of our efforts about promoting getting there early, I think fans really listened. People have started to get there early, so you don’t see the crush like we used to for a regular game where everybody would arrive within kind of like a 15 to 20-minute window. It’s much more spread out now.”
WHAT’S THERE TO EAT?
Once cleared to enter the arena by the dogs and a digital game ticket is scanned by an attendant, finding something to eat is usually the next goal. Food has also been a work in progress for the Heat since opening its doors to the public again.
No food and beverage options were made available to attendees at first, and then very limited options were eventually made available. But the menu has since expanded, with the Heat using the arena’s East Plaza as its primary eating area.
Concession tents have been set up around the East Plaza to take advantage of the outdoor space, with tables scattered around to promote physical distancing. Papa John’s Pizza, Bombay Bistro, Mojo Donuts, Kosher offerings and a few bars with beer and wine available for purchase are among the options available, and fans are asked to stand in a physically distanced line as they wait to order and grab their food and drinks.
“It’s our version of a food hall,” said Michelle Artimez, the Heat’s culinary marketing manager.
The entire arena, including all merchandise stations, concession stands, bars, and premium dining spaces, is cashless. Accepted forms of payment include credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.
Outdoors spaces on the East Plaza and South Plaza have been the only areas that fans can remove their masks to consume food and beverages, but designated eating areas will also be available throughout the 100 level concourse starting with Thursday’s game. Fans are not allowed to bring any food or drink to their seats because masks must be kept on at all times while inside the arena bowl.
There’s also the option to purchase food through mobile ordering by texting “Heat” to 474747 with a link then texted back to the fan to begin their order. A few Papa John’s and Prime Grill concessions located inside the arena are currently offering mobile ordering, and a text will be sent when the order is ready for pickup.
“When we first started there was zero food and beverage available. None,” McCullough said. “That experience just is so different than what you’re used to when you go to a sporting event. So we were able to slowly start adding more food and beverage out on the East Plaza. People really appreciated that.
“Now people are just saying, ‘This is great. Can you give me a little bit more?’ So we just keep trying to add a little bit here and there and give them more places to eat.”
IN-GAME EXPERIENCE
From there, it’s on to the actual game. Multiple hand sanitizing stations are located in front of the arena doors for fans transitioning from the East Plaza into the building.
The first thing one notices when entering the bowl is how spaced out each party is. Individual game seating is being sold in pairs and groups of four to maintain physical distancing, and all parties are separated by at least six feet and often more.
A masked usher sits at the bottom of each section with a double-sided sign that reads “Please maintain physical distance” on one side and “Face masks must be worn at all times” on the other. The usher sits with their back to the court to keep a close watch that fans in that section are following the health and safety guidelines.
“I feel very safe,” fan Ernie Kaye said while recently attending a game at AmericanAirlines Arena for the first time during the pandemic. “I was actually talking with my friend, I feel totally safe. Like no chance of getting COVID with the way they’ve spaced it out, so it’s great.”
Another noticeable difference in the game experience is the piped-in noise to simulate a crowd and make up for a mostly empty arena. The noise follows the game, with “defense” chants playing at the appropriate times and the volume increasing in important moments.
The Heat has also worked to keep some of the more familiar aspects of the in-game experience similar to pre-pandemic times.
M Dot is still the in-arena DJ and Dale is still the in-arena host. Burnie, the Heat’s mascot, and the Heat Dancers still have a presence, too, but they are contained to one section and are not roaming the building.
Also, a prerecorded performance by the Heat Dancers is played on the arena video screen instead of their usual live on-court show.
There are also plexiglass barriers separating fans from the court in certain areas, with individual chairs scattered around for a limited number of fans and team employees to sit courtside.
As for trips to the restroom, fans are allowed to leave their seats and walk to the restroom at any point during the game. To promote physical distancing, every other sink and urinal is blocked off.
“We lean on it very, very heavily,” McCullough said of fan feedback. “We actually survey people after every game. Try to find out what the experience is like. We pay attention to that, and then we make changes.”
MORE CHANGES COMING
More changes are coming starting with Thursday’s game against the Warriors. Along with the “contained” designated eating areas that will be available throughout the 100 level concourse, the Heat will also become the first team in the NBA to have sections of seats designated for fully vaccinated fans only.
Fans will need to present proof that they’re fully vaccinated with a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued COVID-19 vaccination card to sit in the more tightly packed sections, which will allow an additional 450 fans inside the arena.
“The genesis from this really comes from the NBA league office,” McCullough said. “They recognized that more and more people are getting vaccinated and that teams should be able to acknowledge that with how they’re accommodating fans in the bowl. Every team has the option now of creating vaccinated fan sections. We just happened to be more ready.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday he will issue emergency rules this week that prevent businesses from requiring customers to show proof of vaccinations through COVID-19 “passports” and will ask the Legislature to pass a permanent ban. But all signs point to the Heat moving forward with its plan to use vaccinated fan sections for now.
Sections 117 and 118 in the lower bowl will be designated for fully vaccinated fans and pods of seats, still sold in pairs and groups of four, will be separated by just one chair. Vaccinated fans will enter through a separate gate (Gate 6) that won’t require them to be screened by COVID-19-sniffing dogs or undergo rapid testing unless they’ll be seated within 30 feet of the court, and they’ll need to present proof of vaccination — final shot must have been administered at least 14 days prior to the date of the game — and a government-issued ID.
“It’s really more of an acknowledgment and there’s some convenience involved for the fans who are vaccinated as far as the speed of entry should be quicker because they will not have to go through the COVID-detection dogs,” McCullough said. “So it’s really kind of more a convenience. Once you’re in the seating area, there will be less distance between your groups because everyone in that section has been vaccinated.”
Masks still need to be worn at all times by fans seated in the vaccinated fan sections, and food and drinks are still prohibited inside the arena bowl.
“It’s really an opportunity for us to experiment a little bit with the vaccinated section to give those fans a little bit more convenience and speed of entry,” McCullough added. “Then I think that’s going to give us some learning. The first few days, we’re going to watch and we’re going to learn and we’re going to talk to those fans after the game and hear about their experiences and see how we can improve it and make it a little bit better.”
The fan experience at AmericanAirlines Arena will continue to evolve this season, with the playoffs beginning in May. The hope is to continue gradually increasing seating capacity depending on the course of the pandemic and vaccinations.
All the while, the Heat continues to work to maintain a safe and clean environment while still providing an entertaining and memorable game experience.
For those who remain hesitant about attending a sporting event during a pandemic, McCullough has this message.
“First of all, we understand. That’s the most important thing is that we understand your hesitancy,” he said. “But what I would say to them is that they can rest assured that we have taken every precaution to provide them with a safe, healthy, clean experience. From the COVID-detection dogs, to the physical distancing that we’re requiring, to the constant mask wearing once you’re in the venue except when you’re actually consuming food and beverage, to the hand sanitizing stations almost every couple of steps throughout the arena.
“We have taken every possible precaution to ensure people have this safe and healthy experience. On top of that with those limitations, we’re still delivering a fun, exciting game operations environment. So we understand people who might be hesitant. But more importantly, we think that they can rest assured knowing that we have taken every precaution possible to ensure their safety, them and their family, and that they stay healthy.”
For more information on what to expect at AmericanAirlines Arena this season, visit Heat.com/FanSafety.
This story was originally published March 31, 2021 at 1:09 PM.
