SF Giants: Fans could be in Attendance by Opening Day

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 26: Eric Hosmer #30 of the San Diego Padres hits a single in the top of the fourth inning against the SF Giants at Oracle Park on September 26, 2020 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

It might soon be time to recycle those cardboard cutouts as the SF Giants received some positive news for Opening Day.

Lara Korte of the Sacramento Bee reports that outdoor sports, including the SF Giants, will be eligible to have fans in attendance by April 1.

SF Giants fans could be in attendance by Opening Day

The Giants begin on the road with a pair of three-game series against the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres before coming home for Opening Day on April 9. San Francisco currently sits in the red tier, which is the third-most restrictive tier, but a loosening of restrictions will allow them to host up to 20 percent (8,000 fans) capacity.

April 9 is a long time from now and a lot can change, so everything is still very tentative. If San Francisco regresses o the purple tier, which is the most restrictive tier, then fan attendance becomes extremely limited.

One of the most common themes from Giants players is that they miss the fans in the stands that a return to normalcy could happen soon enough. Evan Longoria, Wilmer Flores, Brandon Crawford, and Alex Dickerson have expressed these sentiments and have noted how refreshing it is to have fans at the games during the Cactus League in Arizona.

Of course, the San Francisco Giants organization will be happy to see fans return as well. All of baseball took a collective hit in 2020 as fans were not allowed to attend, thereby cutting off a major source of revenue.

Teams still generated plenty of revenue from TV and radio deals and tried to muster up another source of income through the sales of cardboard cutouts.

With that being said, the Giants appeared to be in a better financial position than most teams. Nevertheless, the organization responded to the pandemic by releasing a number of prospects early in 2020 and employing a series of layoffs in October of that same year.

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Fans being on track to return to the games by April is an encouraging sign as the country continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. The hope is that this is the next step in the return to normalcy and maybe even a sign that we are beginning to turn the corner in the fight against this devastating virus.

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