The Coyotes are playing their first hockey game of the regular season Thursday night in Glendale and possibly hosting their first COVID-19 spreader event in the process.
They hope not, of course, but that's the risk the team assumed when it decided it was safe for 3,450 fans, about 25 percent of Gila River Arena’s capacity, to attend even though Arizona leads the country in infection rate. Even though we’re being advised to avoid large gatherings and stay home as much as possible.
Based on percentage of venue capacity, the crowd at Thursday night’s game is the largest I can remember for an an indoor sporting event in Arizona since the pandemic hit the United States in earnest last March.