Bruce Springsteen at MetLife Stadium, 2016 // Photo by Will Blochinger


According to New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, the Garden State will allow limited capacity events at large venues beginning at 6 a.m. on March 1.

Specifically, rooms with a capacity of 5,000 or more will be eligible for reopening and – as the governor specified on a radio interview with 101.9 FM – “Everybody has to do the stuff we’re all used to these days: face coverings, social distancing, etc. If you buy tickets together you can sit together, but otherwise, you have to social distance, and God willing, this is the first step of what I hope is many more to come.”

New York announced a similar plan last week, with Madison Square Garden opening tentatively at 10% capacity for Knicks and Rangers games.

And while Murphy doesn’t mention specific concerts, he does acknowledge that this plan will impact teams like the New Jersey Devils (who play at the Prudential Center) and New York Giants (who play at MetLife Stadium). However, there’s still plenty of logistics to be considered with this kind of reopening, with Murphy saying, “We’re not there yet with tests. That’s why social distancing, one-way avenues, how concessions are handled…all that will matter.”

Listen to Murphy’s interview below: