Globe Death Field in Arlington Texas will be the first Major League Baseball stadium to reopen at full capacity – roughly 40,000 seats – since the pandemic began. This decision was made one month after Texas Governor Greg Abbott ended the state’s mask mandate and insisted that businesses to reopen fully.
Everything is big in Texas including stupid. Half hearted measures will be in place for safety, like a gentle request that fans should wear masks except for while eating, guzzling beer and yelling. Over 38,000 fans packed the stands on opening day April 5, 2021.
“We made a commitment to everybody [season ticket holders] that they could hold tickets if we would allow them for the proper Opening Day,” executive vice president and chief revenue and marketing officer Joe Januszewski told MLB.com. “We’re going to honor that, so in order to do that, obviously we would be at a full capacity.”
When asked about the full capacity decision, President Joe Biden said, “They should listen to Dr. Fauci, the scientists and the experts. But I think it’s not responsible.” Biden warned about potential surges, citing the jumps in European nations that have reopened, and reiterated that vaccinations need to increase before businesses can reopen fully. “We have to get to the point where enough people have taken the vaccine, so we diminish the possibility for it to spread,” he said.
Texas ranked 47 out of all 50 states in percentage of the population to receive at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. “I worry we’re in for the perfect storm. We’re lifting restrictions, the B.1.1.7 variant is here in a big way, and we’re lagging behind on vaccinations. None of that is good news,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, the Dean of Baylor College of Medicine. “We’re going to be in a much better shape in a couple of months from now. I don’t quite understand the urgency to lift restrictions.”