If they open it up, will people come?
With the state of Washington on track to lift all COVID-19 restrictions on June 30, the Mariners announced Thursday that they will open up all seating for home games for the remainder of the season.
The re-opening will start with the July 2nd game vs. the Texas Rangers, which opens a nine-game homestand (July 2-11) before the All-Star break and also features the New York Yankees coming to Seattle for a mid-week three-game series.
As part of this full re-opening, the Mariners will have a "Grand Re-Opening Night" for that Friday night game, offering ticket deals and the first postgame fireworks show since the 2019 season.
Perhaps the biggest aspect of this re-opening is that fans will no longer have to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for entry into T-Mobile Park. Masks will not be required for fans, but the Mariners are recommending that unvaccinated fans wear them.
Also from the press release:
* Tickets will be available for the remainder of the 2021 season. All tickets will be in a full capacity format. No socially distanced pods will be available.
* No printed tickets will be available. All tickets will be digital in order to reduce contact and opportunities for cross contamination between fans and staff. Information about digital tickets is available at Mariners.com/DigitalTickets.
Following the guidelines set by the state and county, the Mariners had already opened up T-Mobile Park to allow ticket sales of more than 30,000 fans per game with vaccinated sections and social distancing pods for this current homestand.
But with the Mariners' uneven play, school still in session and residual concerns about safety due to COVID-19, the first three games vs. the Twins have each drawn less than 10,000 fans.
The Mariners aren't the only team set to open up fan seating capacity.
The Storm will also open to full capacity on July 2 against Atlanta at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, the team announced Thursday. The Storm will also eliminate social distancing requirements for vaccinated fans and will provide a limited number of socially distanced seats for unvaccinated fans in designated areas. Fan capacity for the arena is 8,500.
The Sounders will open to full capacity throughout the 68,000-seat Lumen Field beginning with the club's July 7 match against the Houston Dynamo FC.
Single match Sounders tickets are currently available to purchase for the club's home games on June 23, June 26 and July 7. The entire lower bowl will be a vaccinated section where proof of full vaccination is required.
And the OL Reign announced they will be at full capacity for matches at Cheney Stadium beginning July 1. The club's first home match that month at the approximate 6,500-seat facility is against Kansas City on July 11.
