The Texas Rangers plan to open their stadium to a full crowd right off the bat this season.
The Arlington-based Major League Baseball team announced on Wednesday their intent to open Globe Life Field to 100% capacity on opening day, another sign of thawing coronavirus-minded restrictions as spring approaches.
“The Rangers are encouraged that the Governor’s Office has given clearance for us to fully open Globe Life Field at the start of the 2021 Major League Baseball season,” Neil Leibman, Rangers president of business operations and chief operating officer, said in a statement. “We will require all those who enter Globe Life Field to wear a mask or face covering, and are working with Major League Baseball on some additional protocols required for player health and safety. … We are excited that Rangers fans will finally be able to experience all that Globe Life Field has to offer.”
The franchise also announced safety precautions, such as hand sanitizing stations and “distanced seating” sections that allow for more space between fans.
The announcement follows Gov. Greg Abbott’s declaration on March 2 that he was fully reopening Texas.
“This must end,” he said during a Tuesday press conference in Lubbock. “It is now time to open Texas 100%.”
Despite criticism from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called Abbott’s decision a “terrible mistake,” the California governor has expressed a similar optimism about baseball stadiums reopening to the public in time for opening day.
“We have confidence that when you think forward or look forward to April, to opening day, and where we are likely to be if we all do our jobs … then I have all the confidence in the world that fans will be back safely, in a lot of these outdoor venues,” he said last Wednesday in Long Beach.
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The Rangers will face the Toronto Blue Jays in their home opener on April 5.
