'We're a full go': Halifax Wanderers to play Aug. 2, other events to return this fall

HALIFAX -

The countdown is on for local soccer fans: the Halifax Wanderers will play their first home game on Natal Day.

"We're a full go,” says Derek Martin, president of the Halifax Wanderers. “There's no doubt in anyone's mind that games are on for the second and seventh."

Martin says they’re excited to welcome back fans.

"We've been able to create 16 independent, 250-person zones which will allow us to have up to 4,000 people on site,” says Martin.

"We’re just working through now the final stages of how each of those zones can look and what the actual final number will be, but it will be somewhere in that 3,500 to 4,000 person capacity for those first few games."

The Scotiabank Centre is also getting ready to host events, starting with the Halifax Mooseheads home opener on October 2.

"We've got Stars on Ice, which is on October 8, Judas Priest which is on November 2," says Erin Esiyok-Prime, Marketing and Communications Director with Events East.

"Those diehard fans were quick to snap up those tickets and it's really nice to see that live music is back and we just last week heard from the Thunderbirds that they'll be back on December 4."

Esiyok-Prime says they are anxious to open their doors and welcome back fans.

"I think the fans are ready too. I think the community is so ready to be back to live events and back together," she said. “We will be doing that of course safely and we can't wait."

The Downtown Halifax Business Commission is excited to see events return to the city.

"It's one of the things that's been the biggest kind of lingering impact," said Paul MacKinnon, president of the organization.

"One of the things that we've heard that people have missed the most is being able to gather in larger groups and enjoy all the great entertainment and activities and events that typically happen in downtown Halifax."