Newsom expects fans in stands
Governor indicates Giants, A’s fans may be in attendance for Opening Day
For the first time since the 2019 season, Oracle Park and the Oakland Coliseum could host fans for major league baseball games.
Major league ballparks in California could open up to a limited number of fans by the time Opening Day rolls around in the first weeks of April, Gov. Gavin Newsom indicated in a press conference Wednesday in Long Beach.
“There’s not only a possibility, we’ve had advanced conversations,” Newsom said. “We’re working on the final details. We’ve been working very closely with Major League Baseball and others across the spectrum. Working with local health officers and we’ll be updating those guidelines.”
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, ballparks were shut down to fans for all of the shortened 2020 season.
This week, California dropped to a 2.2 positivity rate, Newsom said, with hospitalizations down 43 percent and down 42 percent in the ICUs over the last two weeks.
Even if the state and league fail to reach a deal, California’s existing guidelines could allow for fans at Bay Area ball games.
In California’s tiered system, professional sports teams can allow up to 20 percent capacity in outdoor facilities if their respective county hits the orange tier.
San Francisco County, where Oracle Park sits, just reached the red tier and is on pace to hit the orange tier before the home opener on April 9 against the Colorado Rockies at Oracle Park. Alameda County, where the Oakland Coliseum sits, is still in the
“We’re stabilizing, we’re moving into the right tier.”
— Gov. Gavin Newsom.
purple tier but is expected to reach the red tier soon and could go orange before the A’s home opener on April 1 against the Houston Astros.
To get to the orange tier, a county needs to be below 4 cases per 100,000 (and have a positivity rate below 5%). Newsom made no guarantees, but was confident in the state’s direction.
“We’re stabilizing, we’re moving into the right tier,” Newsom said. “We have confidence that when you look forward to April, to Opening Day where we are likely to be if we all do our jobs, if we don’t let our guard down and spike the ball — wrong sport — but you get the point, then I have all the confidence in the world that fans will be back safely, in a lot of those outdoor venues.”
Orange tier guidelines for teams to host fans in outdoor facilities also require advanced reservations with assigned seating and no concourse sales. In-seat concessions, which means roving vendors, will be allowed.
If and when MLB teams in California get clearance, the A’s and Giants have released ticket voucher programs to let fans reserve seats in pods for regularseason games. Fans that purchase vouchers can buy individual tickets if and when Alameda and San Francisco counties reach the orange tier.
The Giants and A’s are currently playing in front of a limited number of fans in Cactus League games around Arizona.