When baseball returns to New York City next month, fans will
be there to see it. They will just have to keep their distance from one
another.
In a continuation of New York’s reintroduction of spectators
at sporting events, which has already seen the return of basketball fans to
Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on March 18 that the Yankees and the Mets would be permitted to operate their stadiums at
20 percent of capacity to begin the 2021 baseball season.
اضافة اعلان
That will translate to roughly 10,850 fans at Yankee Stadium
for their Opening Day game against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 1. The Mets
will be allowed to host 8,492 fans at Citi Field for their home opener against
the Miami Marlins on April 8.
“We need that. That New York tenacity, that New York crowd
brings a different vibe to the ballpark,” Marcus Stroman, a starting pitcher
for the Mets, said in a video conference with reporters. “That’s something
every single guy in this clubhouse is looking forward to, getting towards the
end of the year and seeing that population in the stands start to increase,
because we know that energy we kind of feed off of, and it creates an
environment that’s hard to play in for opponents, as well.”
The Mets and Yankees both issued statements thanking the
governor for the announcement and providing some details of how the process
will work.
“We’re really excited about the season ahead and welcoming
the best fans in baseball back — safely — to Citi Field,” Steven Cohen, the
owner of the Mets, said, describing the announcement as a significant step in
New York’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. He expressed optimism that the
restrictions — which will be re-evaluated in May — would eventually be lifted.
Hal Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ managing general partner,
issued a similar statement, citing the benefits of bringing fans back into the
stadium.
“The entire Yankees organization — and especially our
players on the field — feed off the energy that our loyal and dedicated fans
bring to Yankee Stadium,” he said.
While the announcement is welcome news after the 30 Major
League Baseball teams claimed to have collectively lost billions during last
year’s fanless regular season, the allowed attendance will be far from what it
was before the pandemic. In 2019, the Yankees drew an average of 41,827 fans
per game, the third-highest in the majors, while the Mets were 13th with an
average of 30,531.
The decision to readmit spectators comes after Dr. Anthony
Fauci, the United States government’s top infectious disease expert, made it
clear that, with proper precautions, the risk of transmitting the coronavirus
at baseball parks was relatively low.
“The positive aspect of baseball is that most of it is
outdoors,” he said last month in a Q. and A. with The New York Times. “And if
you space people well enough, you get people to wear masks, you have situations
that people don’t crowd at the concessions near each other to get food and
things like that, you can pull it off in a pretty safe way, I believe.”
To that end, MLB teams will be following strict guidelines
for attendance eligibility and fan behavior.
All fans must present documentation that they are fully
vaccinated or that they have recently had a negative test for the virus. And
all guests older than 2 will be required to wear masks except when eating or
drinking at their assigned seats. Though if spring training games are any indication,
the mask regulations may be difficult to enforce.
To accommodate regulations for distancing, the teams will be
selling tickets in clusters of one to six seats, with at least 2 meters between
each pod. And to reduce the amount of physical interaction, all tickets will be
delivered via mobile app, with no print-at-home or paper tickets permitted.
“Obviously we know the protocols and everything going on in
the world, that’s first and foremost as far as safety and health,” Stroman
said. “But once we start seeing fans back — even down here we’re starting to
get fans in the stands and it’s awesome, people yelling and cheering — it’s
starting to bring that environment back to ballparks and it’s awesome to see.”
.jpg)
.jpg)
