Photo by Vince Grzegorek
The Cleveland baseball team announced today that, pending approval from state and local health officials, some fans will be allowed in Progressive Field at the start of the season.
No fans saw live action at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario last year, and MLB only welcomed fans beginning with the National League Championship Series. But with Covid-19 numbers gradually improving and the return of socially distanced fans at NFL stadiums and NBA arenas, Major League Baseball is throwing open the gates, to a degree, as well.
Cleveland's plan will include two and four-person pod arrangements for April with masks mandatory for fans at all times except when they are eating or drinking.
The team's announcement didn't include any details on a capacity for those early games, but an offseason fire sale and spring weather in Cleveland probably won't have fans beating down the doors.
Gov. Mike DeWine said he will have details on outdoor game limits later this week but it will probably be 30% of current capacity. If that's the case, Progressive Field could welcome as many as 10,510 fans per game.
