Royals announce fans will return to Kauffman Stadium this season. Here’s their plan
For the first time in John Sherman’s tenure as Kansas City Royals owner, the team will host fans at Kauffman Stadium.
Sherman bought the team from David Glass in November 2019, and his first season as the Royals owner was eclipsed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The regular season was cut from 162 games to 60, and Major League Baseball didn’t allow fans into stadiums until the postseason.
That’ll change in 2021 as fans will replace the cutouts that occupied seats and provide the noise needed to render the piped-in fan sounds unnecessary.
The Royals on Thursday announced a limited number of fans will be allowed into Kauffman Stadium for games in the upcoming season, starting with the April 1 opener against the Texas Rangers.
“I can’t wait to welcome our fans back to Kauffman Stadium for Opening Day,” Sherman said in a statement. “I am grateful for all of the support our fans and partners extended to us during these remarkable times. Our ownership group is excited about this 2021 Royals team. We look forward to a great summer watching the Royals compete on behalf of this great community.”
The Royals shave been working with Kansas City health officials and the Jackson County Sports Authority on safety protocols for the games.
Kauffman Stadium has a capacity of 37,903, but just 10,000 fans will be allowed into the 13 games in April. The Royals plan to increase that number each month, however.
At each game, fans will be seated in socially distanced pods. Face coverings will also be required.
Starting Monday, season-ticket holders will have the first chance to select seats to the April games. The general public will have the option to purchase single-game tickets on March 24.
Sale dates for future home games will be announced after opening day.
“The Chiefs obviously had fans in the stands, I think they did a terrific job and really kind of helped create the model,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said last month. ”I know it’s really important to John Sherman, to make sure that we have a percentage of Kauffman Stadium utilized in a safe way, along with our health officials in our community.”
This story was originally published March 4, 2021 at 1:19 PM with the headline "Royals announce fans will return to Kauffman Stadium this season. Here’s their plan."
