Brooklyn Nets fans flash an ‘Excelsior Pass’ to prove Covid status before game

By Amelia Anthony

An invite to the social media app Clubhouse may have been the hottest status symbol of February. But who wants to hear some yahoo yapping about crypto? Now there’s a newer, hotter ticket to a different kind of clubhouse: The Excelsior Pass.

Nets fans who attended an in-person game at the Barclays Center last week were the first to use a new mobile technology that aims to slow the spread of Covid-19 while allowing the economy to reopen.

The Feb. 27 game was the first test for a state-issued “Excelsior Pass,” a bit of QR code that verifies a ticket holder has either either received a vaccine or a recent negative test result. It functions similarly to a mobile airline boarding pass in that it can be stored on the user’s phone or printed out.

The pass was developed in partnership with IBM and was also piloted at the Rangers Game at Madison Square Garden yesterday. Under new reopening guidelines, large venues are allowed to welcome fans up to 10 percent capacity, or in the case of Barclays Center, 300 people.

“As we begin reopening the valves on different sectors of our economy, we are putting guidelines in place to ensure individuals attending events involving larger gatherings have tested negative for COVID or have been vaccinated to avoid an outbreak of the virus,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is otherwise not having a great week, said in a statement. “The Excelsior Pass will play a critical role in getting information to venues and sites in a secure and streamlined way, allowing us to fast-track the reopening of these businesses and getting us one step closer to reaching a new normal.”