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SF Giants: Fans on Path to Returning Next Season

By Jeff Young

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 26: San Francisco Giants President of Baseball Operations, Farhan Zaidi, talks on the phone before the postponement of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park on August 26, 2020 in San Francisco, California. Several sporting leagues across the nation today are postponing their schedules as players protest the shooting of Jacob Blake by Kenosha, Wisconsin police. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 26: San Francisco Giants President of Baseball Operations, Farhan Zaidi, talks on the phone before the postponement of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park on August 26, 2020 in San Francisco, California. Several sporting leagues across the nation today are postponing their schedules as players protest the shooting of Jacob Blake by Kenosha, Wisconsin police. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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The sports world, especially the SF Giants, got some good news on Tuesday as California governor Gavin Newsom announced that fans can begin attending games again in a limited capacity.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the SF Giants went the entire 2020 season without fans and the lost revenues from this have hurt the organization.

To create a quasi-normal baseball environment, the Giants joined many teams in having cardboard cutouts of fans in the seats:

Players were not necessarily fooled by these cutouts, but it was a good way for the team to replace some of that lost revenue.

While the SF Giants have plenty of time to prepare for Opening Day next year, one bay area sports team has not been given the green light to reopen:

The San Francisco Forty-Niners expressed gratitude over this decision by the California governor, but Santa Clara County is overruling this by stating that no sports events or amusement parks will open anytime soon.

Regardless, this could be good news for the Giants when next season opens. As currently constructed, counties in the orange (moderate) tier can reopen to 20 percent of normal capacity, whereas counties in the yellow tier (minimal) can reopen to 25 percent of normal capacity.

At this point, the tier system is a moot point for the Niners if Santa Clara will not allow Levi’s Stadium to reopen.

In addition to reopening, the state outlined measures that would need to be followed to create a safe atmosphere for fans. The measures included on this list involve restricting sales only to fans within a 120-mile radius, eating and drinking in assigned seating, wearing face coverings, and banning tailgating.

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The 2021 season is still six months from now, so a lot can change between now and Opening Day. The SF Giants might host fans at Oracle Park again next season, or the progress they have made to date could go in the wrong direction thereby potentially revoking the ability to host fans. There are a lot of variables at play, but today brought some good news for California sports and their fans.

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