Canes owner Tom Dundon commits to relief for PNC part-timers: “We’ll do something”
PNC Arena part-time workers’ shifts for the next few weeks disappeared from the scheduling system Friday and there’s no telling when they might be called back to the building for a hockey game or a concert or a convention. The Carolina Hurricanes weren’t the first team to pledge to helping them, but they won’t be among those that do not.
Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon said Saturday that there would be some form of relief for part-time arena employees who will be without work while the NHL is shut down for social-distancing because of the novel coronavirus. He said the plan was expected to be finalized by Monday.
“They’re pulling together who works consistently, how many games are we actually going to miss,” Dundon said. “We’ll do something, though.”
The Hurricanes have eight home games remaining on the original schedule, the most of any NHL team. The NHL paused its season Thursday over concerns about COVID-19, and two team staffers are self-quarantined after potentially being exposed at a Detroit hotel.
Across the NHL and NBA, owners and players have stepped up to help cover those employees. Zion Williamson donated $100,000 to New Orleans Pelicans employees, following the example of Kevin Love and Giannis Antetokounmpo and Blake Griffin. Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky did the same. Owners like Mark Cuban, Dan Gilbert and the Ilitch family have pledged to help — in the NHL, the owners of 13 other teams have done the same.
Meanwhile, in places like Winnipeg and Calgary — where Hurricanes defenseman Jake Bean’s father is the team president — owners have made it clear there will be no assistance. The employees they depend on to bring their arenas to life will be left to fend for themselves while sports are shut down for social-distancing because of the novel coronavirus.
In Boston, where Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs has so far declined to help out, fans started a gofundme fundraising page for arena employees. Bruins players are donating to it.
What form the Hurricanes’ assistance will actually take remains unclear. In Vancouver, employees are being asked to apply on a need-only basis. It’s possible the Hurricanes will ask employees to work games at a reduced per-game rate when games and events resume.
Dundon said he had been told Saturday that Hurricanes players were considering helping as well. Attempts to reach Justin Williams — the team’s most senior player — for comment Saturday were unsuccessful. But Dundon said any money donated by players would be above and beyond what the team intended to do.
“I’ve heard the players are asking about being involved,” Dundon said. “I haven’t asked them to be involved. I just found out about an hour ago that the players want to help.”
Anyone who is in the building regularly knows the names of the people who make their experience enjoyable, as they do those of the owners and players. There are some logistical hurdles, to be sure, but it’s better to commit to doing the right thing first — like the NCAA awarding an extra season of eligibility to spring-sport athletes — and figure out the details later.
In some arenas, part-time staff are paid and managed by companies or contractors otherwise unaffiliated with the teams that play there. Those cases are a little more complicated, but that’s not the case here.
While PNC is publicly owned, the Hurricanes manage the building. These part-timers are their people, from the catering workers to the elevator operators to the security guards, all of whom show up, shift after shift, game after game, concert after concert. Many have worked there since the building opened, not part of the organization but certainly part of the family.
Nationwide, there’s another group of sports-based part-timers being left out: With no television broadcasts, the freelancers who get paid by the show and do almost everything behind the scenes are going to be hurting as well. That’s a tougher group to help: Many work for multiple networks broadcasting multiple sports in multiple venues.
But there are going to be many part-time groups like that across the spectrum of our lives, some obvious and others not, and eventually, we’re going to have to figure out a way to help them all, because people like that fuel the machinery of our daily routine.
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This story was originally published March 14, 2020 at 2:18 PM.
