The Orioles will allow fans to attend Grapefruit League games at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida, the team announced on Friday.
The team will allow 1,833 fans, about 25 percent capacity of Ed Smith Stadium, for games.
“Pod” seating will be enforced to ensure that groups of fans will be separated by at least 6 feet.
Fans must wear masks that cover the nose and mouth at all times.
The Orioles will be home for 14 Grapefruit League games in a revised schedule that was released by Major League Baseball on Friday. Their first home game will be on February 28th against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The last home game is March 29th against Tampa Bay.
Ten of the games are 1:05 p.m. starts, and four night games begin at 6:05.
Birdland memberships and five-game plans are on sale. Tickets for individual games go on sale on February 20th.
Ed Smith Stadium will not accept cash for tickets or concessions.
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Glad to hear something semi normal, I realize spring training is somewhat regionalized, not sure why we play AL East teams at all, maybe H/A one time since it seems like those are the only teams we play during the regular season...go O’s...
Ray, there are nine teams within 90 minutes of the Orioles. It would be impossible to play only non-AL East teams all spring. The Astros are in West Palm Beach, which is three hours away. MLB wants to cut travel for safety reasons, not increase it.
Get it, that’s why I said regionalized, just said it gets old...go O’s...
Question:
Shouldn’t the states restrictions, or lack of them, supersede MLB? Governor DeSantis has basically had Florida open for some time now. Why the restriction on number of fans? Same thing with mandate of wearing masks. It looked like fans at Super Bowl that was in Tampa were about evenly split with mask wearing. Just wondering who orders the protocols.
Dave, MLB and the states jointly decide the protocol. In Baltimore, where I live, everyone wears a mask and I now double-mask in stores. I would feel incredibly unsafe being around people without masks, and am thankful so many people are mindful and caring about others.
Thanks for the answer Rich. So, if I were to hazard a guess I’m thinking the most optimistic guess for Opening Day in Baltimore will be that maybe 10,000 fans will be allowed to attend. I’ve only missed 5 openers since 1979 and never two in a row. I guess that streak is in jeopardy.
Dave, I'm thinking maybe 4,000-5,000, but that's a guess.
Any chance they’d hold a lottery for Opening Day tix or do you suppose it’ll only be players allotment and full season ticket holders? Don’t worry, I’m not gonna hold you to any answers. I realize it’s all speculative at this time.