The 2021 Opening Night game between the A's and the Houston Astros felt as if the baseball world was getting back to normal after the 2020 season was impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, forcing fans to miss out on attending games in person.
On Thursday night, fans were allowed back into the Coliseum, with local guidelines calling for 20 percent capacity to be permitted. It appeared the green and gold faithful were adhering to the safety protocols put forth by the A’s from what I observed.
Prior to the game itself, fans began trickling in and were socially distancing, wearing masks, but you could still hear them cheering which went to show, rules being enforced won’t take away from the experience.
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But not all of them continued to do so as they would forget to put their masks back on after eating or drinking. That’s bound to happen.
There were 10,436 fans at the Coliseum on Thursday night. They were authorized to sit in pods (groups of seats) in sets of two, three or four being at least six feet apart from one another.
Transactions, as well as the ticket purchases themselves, were cashless and contactless as well.
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Most of these protocols are subject to change, especially the capacity. Depending on the county guidelines, there are possibilities the 20 percent capacity could increase. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said he anticipates full stadiums by this summer.
For the first night in this new world, anticipating some hiccups, it appeared it went well overall.