Club will have fans for spring training
Around 1,600 will be able to attend games at Palm Beach facility
The Astros are primed to host around 1,600 fans at Fitteam Ballpark of the Palm Beaches for their 18 Grapefruit League games scheduled to start later this month.
On Monday morning, the Astros emailed a select group of their fans advertising an “exclusive presale” for tickets to Grapefruit League games. Tickets will be sold in pods ranging from one to six seats, Astros senior vice president of marketing and communications Anita Sehgal said. Seats that are not sold or in pods will be zip-tied to enforce social distancing.
The pods cannot be “split amongst parties who do not know each other,” the email reads, and reselling or forwarding the tickets to multiple unknown parties is “strictly prohibited.” A limited number of suites are available to purchase, too, through the ballpark.
The stadium has room to seat 6,500 in its fixed seats, but also has berms in the outfield to fit 1,000 or more people. Sehgal said there will be marked pods of four on the berm where customers can purchase tickets. In all, the ballpark will hold “about 20 percent capacity,” Sehgal said.
The Astros expect to host “somewhere close to 25 percent” capacity at Minute Maid Park to start the regular season — around 10,000 to 12,000 spectators. They’re scheduled to start the season at Oakland on April 1 and will play their home opener April 8 against the Athletics.
On Monday night, the Major League Baseball Players Association rejected a league proposal that sought to delay spring training by a month and play a 154game regular season. Players were promised their full, 162-game salaries in the proposal, but the union balked at no salary or service time protections in the event of delays or cancellations.
“We do not make this decision lightly,” the union said in a statement. “Players know first-hand the efforts that were required to complete the abbreviated 2020 season, and we appreciate that significant challenges lie ahead. We look forward to promptly finalizing enhanced health and safety protocols that will help players and clubs meet these challenges.”
The Astros are scheduled to open Grapefruit League play at Fitteam Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on Feb. 27 against the Nationals, with whom they share the complex. The Astros are scheduled to play 18 Grapefruit League games at the facility.
Sehgal said protocols will remain the same for games hosted by the Nationals.
“We don’t have any intention of going up (in capacity),” Sehgal said. “Spring training is a short period of time. We’ll implement protocols, and I don’t anticipate we’ll adjust them.”
Fitteam Ballpark of the Palm Beaches is still a drivethrough, COVID-19 testing site open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Sehgal said testing will continue on-site once the teams report to spring training, but will be moved away from where players, coaches and staff park and congregate.
Fan access will be limited to games only, with no admission into Astros workouts or onto the back fields. A 12-foot buffer zone between the edge of the dugout and first row of sold seats will keep fans away from players and staff on the field, according to Sehgal. Face coverings will be required unless fans are eating or drinking in their purchased seats.
Though a spring training start date still remains unknown, the Astros are not alone in anticipating fans. Fifteen minutes away from West Palm Beach sits Roger Dean Stadium, spring training home for the Cardinals and Marlins. The Jupiterbased stadium announced last week that tickets were on sale for games scheduled in February. Multiple reports Monday indicated the Pirates will also host fans at their spring training games in Bradenton, Fla.