It may be only a mere 3% of the 41,083 capacity at Comerica Park, but the Detroit Tigers are planning on hosting at least 1,000 fans for their home opener on April 1.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently announced that outdoor sports venues that feature seating capacity over 10,000 may have up to 1,000 fans in attendance, while venues with lower capacities (such as Little Caesars Arena) may have up to 750 in attendance.
Tigers owner Chris Ilitch spoke this afternoon about his hopes for Tigers home attendance this season, which will feature a full 162 game schedule as opposed to last year’s shortened 60 game schedule.
“As it relates to attendance capacity, that’s going to be guided by government officials and by the health experts,” Ilitch said Tuesday at Joker Marchant Stadium. “I’m very confident our team is going to be able to execute the protocols and procedures to safely welcome fans back to Comerica Park for Opening Day. Very excited about that.”
The Tigers will have far lower attendance figures allowed at home games than their Central Division rivals. The Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians will feature up to 30% capacity, the Minnesota Twins 25% capacity, and the Chicago White Sox 20%.
Regardless, this is an important step in the gradual return to normalcy.
“We’re implementing wonderful procedures and protocols that are going to keep everybody safe as we introduce and bring fans back into Comerica Park,” Ilitch said. “It’s a sign of the times. It’s what we need to manage today. But I’m very confident in the ability to manage this successfully.”
The Tigers will take on the Tribe at Comerica Park April 1 at 1:10 PM EST.
– – Quotes via Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press Link – –
