Texas Governor Increases Stadium Capacity to 50 Percent, Including Globe Life Field
On May 28, Texas Governor Greg Abbott paved the way for fans to attend sports for the first time since the novel coronavirus shut everything down.
Last week, Abbott announced outdoor sporting events would be permitted to host fans at 25 percent capacity. Only a week later, Abbott revised that decision by doubling the capacity to 50 percent, which is not limited only to outdoor sporting events.
The announcement comes as part of the "Phase III" reopening plan to help boost the state economy.
“Stadiums, whether it be where the Mavericks play or the Texas Rangers play or the Dallas Cowboys play, will be able to seat [at] 50% capacity,” Abbott told KDFW-TV in Dallas on Wednesday.
In addition, a report by the Dallas Morning News' Evan Grant states that Major League Baseball "is inclined to allow local and municipal governance to take precedence" regarding spectators attending sporting events.
Of course, Texas has two MLB teams: the Rangers and the Houston Astros.
The Texas Rangers have a brand new home in Globe Life Field, a $1.2 billion stadium that features a retractable roof to shelter fans from the scorching Texas summer days. The team has been patiently waiting to showcase this new cathedral for Rangers games.
“The Texas Rangers are looking forward to the potential of returning to play in 2020," the team said in a statement. "Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association are having ongoing discussions about that possibility at the present time, and the Rangers are in the process of operational planning for if and when we have a spring training and regular season games at Globe Life Field.
"The health and safety of our players, staff, and fans are a top priority, and we will await further information and guidance from Major League Baseball and the appropriate health authorities in the coming days and weeks.”
Globe Life Field's full capacity is 40,300. Fitting over 20,000 fans would obviously come with its challenges in health and safety protocols, but would also provide much-needed revenue and a potentially increased home field advantage.
There's the possibility that other states would permit a percentage of fans to attend ball games, but first MLB and the Players Association need to work out a return-to-play plan.
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