The Atlanta Braves announced Wednesday that they will allow a 100 percent crowd from May 7th. The reported capacity of their home stadium, Truist Park, in suburban Atlanta is 41,084.
Atlanta will be the second team in Major League Baseball to allow full-capacity crowds at its stadium this season amid the coronavirus pandemic. The gamekeeper On April 5, the Arlington, Texas stadium opened for the full capacity home opener – a decision President Biden made called “A mistake” and “not responsible” earlier this month. A total of, more than 38,000 fans filled the stadium with 40,300 seats that day.
In Atlanta, the team started the season with a capacity of 33 percent and increased that number for their homestead to 50 percent in late April. Now they’re doubling that.
“We had great success in welcoming our fans back safely to Truist Park,” said Derek Schiller, President and CEO of the team a statement issued by the team. “Our outdoor environment, the demand from our subscribers and fans to watch us play in person, as well as the security measures in place give the impression that now is the right time to be fully utilized again in Truist Park.”
The team will continue to require fans in the stadium to wear masks when they are not actively drinking or eating – though earlier this month This requirement was seldom enforced. The team also said vaccinations and temperature controls are not required.
For fans who are uncomfortable going to a full capacity stadium, the team said it would offer credits that can be used for future regular season games. But there was one caveat: the team said these credits “must be redeemed before October 3, 2021”.
Team officials originally said They expected to greet crowds at full capacity by June, a month before they would host the 2021 All-Star Game. But since then MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred moved the game to Denver in response to the new game Electoral laws in Georgia Democrats and civil rights groups said they disproportionately suppress voter turnout, especially among people of color. The Braves vehemently opposed the relocation of the game and rejected Manfred’s decision.
Although The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased their guidelines Regarding the wearing of masks for fully vaccinated people outdoors this week, it was stressed that masks are still required in crowded outdoor areas like stadiums.
New virus cases are falling noticeably in the United States, including Georgia, but the state has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country.
Last month, new research submitted to The Lancet, a scientific journal, suggested that there is a link between NFL games with large numbers of fans in the stands and an increase in the number of infections in areas near the stadiums. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league hopes to open all of their stadiums to full capacity when the 2021 season kicks off in September.
Elsewhere in the south, Louisiana State University said Wednesday it would allow masses of capacity at outdoor sporting events, starting with a baseball game against the University of Arkansas on Friday. LSU also said that spectators would no longer be required to wear masks at outdoor events and would allow people in a state with an appreciated game day culture to resume “normal tailgating activities” without pandemic restrictions .
“This is another positive step for us as a campus and community,” said Scott Woodward, LSU sports director.
Alan Blinder contributed to the coverage.
