Will crowds grow in second half?

SAINT JOHN - For the first time since mid-December, TD Station will be allowed to be at 100% capacity.

New Brunswick officially moved into Level 1 of its "Winter Plan" on Saturday, which allows sports facilities and entertainment venues to remove capacity restrictions. Masks and proof of vaccination will still be required.

Most of Saint John's home games this season have been without capacity restrictions. Only the past three games at TD Station - two this month and one in December - were limited to 50% with social distancing enforced.

Despite having only a few home games impacted by capacity restrictions, the Sea Dogs have not had a great season at the gate. Excluding the three games that have had capacity limitations, the Sea Dogs are averaging just 2,445 fans per game. The team has welcomed over 3,000 fans just twice this season with the largest crowd being 3,588.

Nine of the franchise's 15 lowest crowds of all-time have happened this season (the below list does not include any games with capacity limitations).

Oct. 23, 2019 vs Sherbrooke: 2,408
Oct. 22, 2015 vs Bathurst: 2,392

Oct. 16, 2021 vs Cape Breton: 2,391
Oct. 9, 2018 vs Cape Breton: 2,379

Nov. 27, 2021 vs Baie-Comeau: 2,338
Dec. 12, 2021 vs Val-d'Or: 2,332

Oct. 31, 2019 vs Rimouski: 2,309
Oct. 12, 2014 vs Charlottetown: 2,286

Oct. 9, 2021 vs Bathurst: 2,275

Dec. 17, 2021 vs Moncton: 2,272
Oct. 31, 2015 vs Val-d'Or: 2,266

Oct. 15, 2021 vs Cape Breton: 2,197

Nov. 25, 2021 vs Rouyn-Noranda: 2,093

Oct. 31, 2021 vs Halifax: 2,026

Oct. 20, 2021 vs Bathurst: 1,926

This isn't a problem exclusive to Saint John as many - if not most - junior hockey teams across the country have seen sizeable dips in attendance. There are many possible reasons as to why attendance has dropped, but certainly the most concerning is that people may have found other ways to spend their time. Returning to pre-COVID attendance could take a while, unfortunately.

While it's unlikely TD Station will be packed every night in the second half, it'll be interesting to see how big the crowds get. In normal times, attendance expectations would be extremely high for a Memorial Cup host team entering a stretch run. But these are not normal times.

The Sea Dogs were averaging 3,345 fans per game in 2019-20 before the COVID shutdown, nearly 1,000 fans per game more than what they've had this season.