(Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
By Sam Britt
Commissioner Rob Manfred informs teams to be ready to start the 2021 MLB season on-time and that health and safety guidelines will permit some fan attendance, according to USA Today.
The guidelines allow for the possible sale of spring-training tickets to be sold in small pods that are six feet apart from each other.
Regular season tickets are also expected to be sold in pods just like they were during last season’s NLCS and World Series. For those rounds of the playoffs, there were about 11,500 fans allowed in the stadiums.
Fans will also be required to wear a mask while in the stadium unless they are eating or drinking.
However, the MLB will not require teams to test fans for COVID-19, that fans have proof of vaccination or fans to take temperature checks before entering the stadium. Clubs are allowed to create their own policies.
There will also be no restrictions on the closing of stadium roofs, but the MLB is encouraging teams to play with them open.
“The Office of the Commissioner understands the need for clubs to plan for next season,’’ the memo reads, “but MLB’s policies ultimately will depend on the public health situation in the United States, which is difficult to predict this far in advance of the season. In particular, the current uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 vaccine production and distribution rates is preventing our experts from making predictions about the spring and summer with specificity.
Manfred explained in October that MLB franchises as a whole collected $8.3 billion in debt last season. They also lost between $2.8 and $3 billion in operational losses, according to Sportico.
“We are going to be at historic high levels of debt,” Manfred said. “And it’s going to be difficult for the industry to weather another year where we don’t have fans in the ballpark and have other limitations on how much we can’t play and how we can play.”
Right now the NFL is currently allowing fans for certain playoff games. One example is the Buffalo Bills, who allowed 6,700 fans in for their wildcard game last Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Bills required fans to undergo testing at the stadium within 72 hours of the game, according to Radio.com.
The MLB isn’t requiring this but it is an option for teams who want to allow for fans while continuing to monitor the COVID-19 virus.