Oilers fans can eat and drink at Rogers Place again

Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

Edmonton Oilers fans can once again grab some suds.

It appears they won’t be far off adding some buds, too.

The Alberta government announced yesterday that it will be relaxing or removing some of its COVID-19 restrictions, including restrictions on sale of food and beverages and consumption while seated in audience settings.

It’ll once again allow Oilers fans to grab pop, popcorn, beers, pretzels, and any other food or beverage cravings at Rogers Place starting today. Edmonton hosts the Chicago Blackhawks tonight.

The government’s version of a vaccine passport program has also been removed, meaning fans won’t need to scan a QR code to gain access to the arena.

And, if a downward trend in hospitalizations continues, a second stage will be implemented which would remove mask mandates and capacity limits for large venues, including Rogers Place.

Meaning catching a game with a few friends becomes a much more distinct possibility, with capacity rising from 50% to a sellout crowd of 18,500.

Capacity restrictions limiting attendance to 50% were put in place on December 21, and could be lifted as early as March 1 if things go as planned in the province.

“It is clear we passed the peak of Omicron infections,” said Alberta premier Jason Kenney, pointing to various countries lifting all or almost lifting all public health restrictions over the past weeks.

“We see new COVID hospital admissions coming down, another important indicator,” he added.

“The threat of COVID-19 to public health no longer outweighs the damages of restrictions to our broader social health. Now is the time to start learning to live with COVID. Alberta will move on, but we’ll do so carefully.”

Alberta reported 1,667 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, putting the number of active infections in the province at 28,265. This is a decrease of 1,829 active cases since Monday’s count.

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