Plans forming for return of limited fans
10,000-12,000 may be allowed at start of season
HOUSTON — The Astros are planning for fans to return to Minute Maid Park in a limited capacity when the 2021 regular season begins.
An email sent to season-ticket holders Tuesday morning praised the signing of free-agent outfielder Michael Brantley and told fans “don’t miss your chance to see him.” The club advertised a flex plan that allows fans to purchase 20 or 40 ticket vouchers for use at any home game.
Astros spokeswoman Anita Sehgal said the club is still finalizing many of its protocols and plans for the 2021 season, but estimated as many as 12,000 people could be accommodated for the beginning of the season. The Astros’ home opener is scheduled for April 8 against the Oakland Athletics. The team is allowing fans for its annual Division II college tournament at Minute Maid Park this weekend, though it did not reveal an exact number.
“We’re working through what that number would be (in the regular season),” said Sehgal, the team’s senior vice president for
marketing and communications. “I’m not sure that it’ll be a clean percentage amount, but it will probably be somewhere close to 25 percent or anywhere around 10 to 12,000 people. It will vary depending on how we do the bowl versus suites and premium areas. But it will be somewhere around 25 percent.”
The Rockets are currently hosting approximately 17 percent capacity for home games at Toyota
Center, with a maximum of 25 percent. Sehgal said the Astros are observing their protocols as part of the Houston venue task force — a group created by the Harris County Sports Authority.
“Houston has done a great job of having all of these venues stay together and share best practices,” Sehgal said. “We actively participated in that and we’ve shared our learnings and they’ve shared theirs. We’ve done something similar
with all the clubs across the league as everyone is figuring it out. First and foremost, we’ll take guidance from health officials and the league and secondly we’ll work directly with the county and the city for sign-off on our protocols.”
Sehgal said the club will receive guidance from Major League Baseball before building its list of protocols for attendance. The plan must be approved by both the league and city health officials.
For the past two weeks, Minute Maid Park was utilized as a COVID-19 vaccine mega site, though it will “stand down” this week due to a shortage of supply. Sehgal said the Astros have “let the city and the health authority know we are happy to help them and happy to offer our facility if it works out for them.”
When baseball begins again, concern over being indoors is somewhat abated. Outside air is pumped into Minute Maid Park with the roof closed, allowing the team to keep flexibility as to whether it plays with the roof open or closed with fans in attendance. During a normal season, most of the Astros’ home games with an open roof are in April or May.
Once tickets are made available, Sehgal said season-ticket holders will retain priority on purchases before single-game tickets are made available to the general public. It is still unknown how many of the stadium amenities — concession stands or team stores — would be open based on the capacity.
“I anticipate we will adapt to the number of fans we have, but it will be anchored in us making sure that both employees and fans feel safe coming to the ballpark,” Sehgal said.