Mayor Lori Lightfoot | File photo
Mayor Lori Lightfoot | File photo
The Chicago Cubs and White Sox will open the new season with stands filled to 20% capacity.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot recently announced the two teams will be able to seat roughly 8,000 fans as COVID-19 restrictions are further lifted across the state.
Fans were forced to the sidelines in 2020 when the pandemic was at its height.
Fans, players and coaches all welcomed the move.
“The atmosphere around Wrigley Field on a day game, or just a game in general, I don’t know if there’s anything like it in professional sports,” Cubs manager David Ross said Monday. “It just really is a special place to come to, and the interaction between (fans), either the bars around the area, or out front with the big screen in Gallagher Way, it just was an empty feeling (in 2020). You’ve got this museum there that no one could get in to appreciate but the players. It’s exciting to get back to some sense of normal.”
Chicago joins a growing number of other cities in allowing teams to open their gates to at least some fans, among them New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Houston.
The Cubs said season ticket holders will have first access to the seats starting March 15, with the home opener scheduled for April 1.
The Sox, who open at home on April 8, are also giving priority to season ticket holders in order of tenure.
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