State says Play Ball! — with fans
Rules eased: Outdoor sporting events, theme parks get OK
The Giants and A’s can welcome a limited number of fans back to ballparks on April 1 under new state rules announced Friday that will also let Disneyland and other theme parks reopen for the first time in more than a year.
The changes allow people to attend other outdoor sporting events and live performances in limited numbers that go into effect on baseball’s opening day, when the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Angels and Oakland A’s all have home games.
Disneyland officials did not say when the park would re
open. But when it does, only people who live in California can buy tickets. The same goes for MLB games and outdoor performances, as public health officials try to limit mixing while continuing to roll out coronavirus vaccinations.
Indoor events such as NBA games and concerts are not included in the new rules announced by the adminstration of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The state is acting because the rates of new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are declining while the number of people receiving vaccines is increasing, said Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s top public health official.
“Today’s announcement is focused on building in some of the compelling science about how the virus behaves, and how activities when done a certain way can reduce risk,” Ghaly said.
California divides its counties into four colorcoded tiers based on the spread of the virus. The purple tier is the most restrictive, followed by red, orange and yellow. Attendance limits are based on what tier a county is in.
Outdoor sports are limited to 100 people in the purple tier. The limits increase to 20% capacity in the red tier, 33% in the orange tier and 67% in the yellow tier.
Teams and event organizers can only sell tickets regionally in the purple tier. In the other tiers, teams and organizers can sell tickets to anyone living in California. No concessions will be allowed in the purple tier, while in others, concession sales will only be available at seats.
Enforcing the rules will be left to venues. Ghaly and Dee Dee Myers, director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, said organizers will have to sell tickets in advance and can crosscheck to confirm hometowns to help with contact
tracing if needed.
If both Alameda and San Francisco counties are in the red tier at the beginning of April, the Giants will be permitted to host around 8,200 fans at Oracle Park while the A’s can have as many as 11,020 fans at the Coliseum.
Alameda County, which is home to the Coliseum, is in the state’s purple tier, but A’s president Dave Kaval said the organization has been assured Alameda will soon move into the red tier. The change in tiers will take place prior to April 1, which is when the A’s are scheduled to open the season at home against the Houston Astros.
“We were working hand in hand with the governor’s office, Dr. Ghaly, with the league and other California teams to identify a safe operating plan with fans in the current environment,” Kaval said. “We were very happy with the new protocols that allow us to have fans starting with 20% in the red tier for Opening Day, which is a great way to welcome our fans home to the Coliseum.”
A statement released by the A’s said the team has cooperated with Alameda County officials and already received approval to begin
hosting fans on Opening Day. The Giants have worked closely with San Francisco health officials since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to develop health and safety protocols at Oracle Park, but the team has not yet received local clearance to immediately plan for the return of fans. The Giants home opener is scheduled April 9.
The Giants said in a statement they “will submit our operational plans for review and approval by the local health officials and we eagerly look forward to safely welcoming fans back to Oracle Park.”
The Oakland A’s announced rules that give a glimpse of what life will be like for fans during the pandemic. They will be seated in pods of two or four seats, and tickets will only be available on the MLB Ballpark app.
Fans can order concessions on their phones and have them delivered to their seats. No tailgating is allowed, and teams will not accept cash inside the stadium. People who don’t have debit cards can purchase one with cash at a limited number of locations inside the venue.
Both the Giants and the A’s have hosted fans at
their spring training ballparks during the first week of Cactus League play. The teams have used many of the same protocols that will be in place at their Bay Area ballparks such as selling tickets in socially-distanced pods and requiring fans to wear face coverings.
“We want to share this experience with the fans and in some ways, we feel like the game is not fully the game without our fans around,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said following the announcement. “It feels like we’re in a partnership with them and we feel like something is missing when they’re not in the stands.”
“Happy to play the drums again in right field with my fellow bleacher diehards!” A’s fan Bryanne Aler-Ningas said. “Hopefully everyone that comes back to the Coliseum follows the set guidelines so we can all enjoy this great team and great game again.”
Not everyone is certain they’ll be eager to attend games as soon as Opening Day, including Giants fan Gordon Edgar, a longtime Giants season-ticket holder who has been debating the idea of going to games for months.
“My wife and I will feel comfortable going to games once we are both vaccinated,” Edgar said. “I will be fully vaccinated by Opening Day but, unfortunately, my wife and I are in different tiers so I am not sure when we can go together.”
Meanwhile, theme parks can open in the red tier at 15% capacity and boost attendance limits as virus rates decrease. Again, only people who live in California can buy tickets. Indoor rides at outdoor parks will be allowed because they are typically short and can allow for proper spacing.
“We can’t wait to welcome guests back and look forward to sharing an opening date soon,” Ken Potrock, president of Disneyland Resort, said in a statement.
Disneyland employees have been furloughed or out of a job for nearly a year. Andrea Zinder, president of the local United Food and Commercial Workers Union that represents Disney workers, said employees are “excited to go back to work and provide Californians with a bit more magic in their lives.”
Disney fan Kenny King Jr.said he became an annual Disneyland passholder a decade ago and typically takes his family there five times a year.
King, 38, and his family, who live in Pleasant Hill, last went to Disneyland in February 2020 for his birthday. He’s excited to return with his 8-year-old daughter, who had just started enjoying rides such as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Space Mountain, and to take his 2-year-old son, who was mesmerized by the lights and sounds when he went to the park last year.
“We’ll sit there at the house sometimes and we’ll be like man, I just miss Disneyland,” King said.
He said he’s confident Disney will take appropriate safety measures. “They’ve had plenty of time to game plan on that,” he said.