Alex Box Stadium to Open at 25% Capacity for LSU Baseball Games
"Baseball at the Box" has been a timeless tradition over the last 30 years as the Tigers have grown in popularity year after year. Normally a stadium that can hold over 10,000 patrons, the program announced a number of COVID-19 protocols on Monday.
One of the big adjustments that will be made is a 25% capacity cap to start the 2021 season. A few other significant protocols were announced including:
-All Alex Box Stadium entrances will open one hour prior to first pitch, and fans must sit in their assigned seats. Masks must be worn at all times, except for when actively eating and drinking.
This isn't really different from what football or basketball had to implement because of the safety measures that come along with hosting sporting events. Due to inclement weather conditions, the program also announced on Monday that the times to the first two games of opening weekend have been moved up.
The Tigers will take on Air Force Friday and Ole Miss Saturday at 4 p.m. while the Louisiana Tech game on Sunday afternoon will stay the same at 3:30 p.m.
The team itself is also preparing for potential COVID-19 issues to crop up throughout the team. Outfielder Dylan Crews has taken reps at third base and catcher while Drew Bianco has been moving back and forth from the outfield and infield.
"We're doing a lot of that and it's going to be critical to do that because suffice to say we've had our challenges and I can't imagine we won't have challenges as we go through the season," Mainieri said. "Versatility is going to be huge in how we navigate through the season. You have to have guys that play multiple positions, you have to have depth.
"We're going to explore all options but it's always our goal to put the nine best players on the field. If I have to move positions around to get the nine best guys out there then I'm going to do that."
For a full list of protocols for the fan base, click here.