Summertime Chicago is almost here and with the weather hitting 60 degrees on Monday, there was no better time for the city to announce their plans for the upcoming baseball season. And for both Chicago Cubs and White Sox fans, there was good news.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced on Monday that the city will allow fans to attend Cubs and White Sox games beginning with Opening Day at 20% capacity, amazing news after the teams played the entire shortened 2020 season without fans.
The Mayor released this special video to make the announcement:
Folks, we've significantly slowed the spread of COVID, getting our positivity rate down to 2.8%. And now, we can begin to safely welcome fans back to our baseball stands on opening day. Although we’re reopening, masking is still of utmost importance. 😷⚾ pic.twitter.com/pkGnMDkSUc
— Archived: Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot (@mayorlightfoot) March 8, 2021
With the two teams operating at 20% capacity, that means the Cubs will be able to allow 8,274 at Wrigley Field and the White Sox to allow 8,122 at Guaranteed Rate Field. The Cubs will host Opening Day at Wrigley Field on April 1. The White Sox start on the road and will have their home opener on April 8.
However, the White Sox will not do their fireworks or host $1 hot dog nights.
For fans that have been itching to catch live sports in the state of Illinois, this will be their first real chance to do so since the pandemic started. It’s also good news for a team like the Chicago Bears and their plans for fans later this year at Soldier Field.
The two teams could also increase capacity as the season goes on depending on COVID-19 numbers in the city of Chicago moving forward.
For more on the Cubs and the White Sox, make sure to check out our message boards to get the latest on both franchises.
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