The Dallas Mavericks plan to lift most of the strict, new COVID-19 safety protocols the team announced last month for its home games this season, although the changes will not take effect in time for Tuesday night’s home opener at the American Airlines Center.
Prior to Monday, the team planned to require all Mavericks ticketholders to be masked, and to show either proof of being fully vaccinated or proof of a negative COVID-19 test within the previous 48 hours. Now, the plan moving forward is to only require fans to wear masks in the arena, unless they are actively eating or drinking.
Tuesday night’s home game against the Houston Rockets is too soon to implement the change in policy, Mavericks proprietor Mark Cuban said. But they may be in place for Thursday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs.
Cuban told The Dallas Morning News the reason for the change in plans is because the daily COVID numbers in Dallas County have recently dropped to an average of around 500 per day, as opposed to the 2,000 cases the county was averaging in late September when the stricter protocols were put into place.
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Cuban noted that if COVID cases once again rose to the level they were in September, the team may bring back the stricter requirements.
