ROANOKE, Va. – The Berglund Center’s arena will remain dark for the foreseeable future.
The Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs hockey team, which plays its home games at the Berglund Center, announced Tuesday it would not participate in the upcoming Southern Professional Hockey League season.
Berglund Center general manager Robyn Schon said the Rail Yard Dawgs' decision did not take her by surprise.
She said the largest factor in their decision was Virginia’s COVID-19 capacity limit of 1,000 people. According to Schon, the cap made it “financially impossible” to host events in the arena.
More than 125 part-time Berglund Center employees would have worked during Rail Yard Dawgs games, which does not include parking or security staff.
Schon said the capacity limit has also stalled plans to bring music and other entertainment back to the Berglund Center.
She expects operations will not return to normal until summer 2021.