Arena taking ‘baby steps’ in reopening to full capacity

WILKES-BARRE TWP. — What a difference a month made at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.

The venue went from a few scheduled events to an abbreviated hockey season for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with up to 2,500 people, or 25% of the maximum capacity for the 16 home games as COVID-19 restrictions were loosened by the state.

The season began after the Luzerne County Convention Center Authority held its monthly meeting in March. On Wednesday, Will Beekman, general manager of the facility for the arena’s management firm ASM Global, provided an update at the authority board’s public meeting.

“Since our last meeting, the Penguins have started welcoming fans into the building for hockey games. And they’ve been either reaching or coming close to reaching the allowable capacity,” Beekman said.

It’s a much different environment for the fans. They are socially distanced in their seats, must use credit cards instead of cash when buying food or drinks and have the benefit of contact-less fixtures in the restrooms.

The luxury suites have opened as well. Arena Director of Sales and Marketing Steve Poremba said six suites were in use for the April 10 hockey game under a modified rental program. Capacity ranges from eight to 16 depending upon the size of the suite. The old fabric-covered seats are gone. New vinyl-covered seats are in place as part of the club-seat replacement project.

“Not much has changed to the interior of the suites, but we have cut down on those capacities to provide a more welcoming environment,” Poremba said. Information on the availability and pricing of the suites is available at mohegansunarenapa.com/party-suites.

“I think like everything else, it’s baby steps right now,” Beekman said.

The arena staff has taken precautions to ensure the fans are safe and, for the most part, they’ve been appreciative, Beekman said. “Sure we’ve had a few fans who didn’t want to follow the mask mandate. We just had to handle that accordingly,” Beekman said.

With the end of one season on May 31 another will begin. In between the arena will host the National Prep Wrestling Open for high school wrestlers on May 2 and 3, Beekman added.

“As hockey wraps up, we’re excited to move into graduation season,” Beekman said. “We saw all the graduations go away, unfortunately, last year. So we’re excited to be hosting several high school and college commencements this year.”

The shortened season and limited number of events are expected to hurt the arena’s bottom line and result in a loss this year. Still, Beekman remained optimistic for better days when the arena can host live shows and concerts.

“We continue to see a lot of action on our calendars for the last four months of the year, hoping that we can get back to normal capacity by September,” Beekman said.

In anticipation of playing to a full house, the authority is in the process of preparing a Request for Proposal for the new lounge area and relocation of the Penguins team store on the concourse, said Donna Cupinski, chairwoman of the Capital Improvements & Strategic Planning Committee.

The authority approved a resolution authorizing Chairman Gary Zingaretti and other board members to apply for a portion of the $16 billion in funding available through the federal Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program.