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SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake Bees will return with fans in the stands in May following the cancellation of last year's season due to COVID-19.
The Bees announced that they will allow 3,200 fans for its opening day game tilt against the Reno Aces. The reduced crowd decision was made in accordance with Major League Baseball guidelines and local health department officials, according to team officials.
In addition to the crowd reduction, face masks will be required for all attending fans 2 years old and up sitting in seats and in concourse areas unless they are eating or drinking.
The team also will have "full contactless mobile ticketing" with digital self-service scanning while entering the ballpark this year. Concession stands and the Bees Team Store will be open but only to cash-free purchases through credit, debit and prepaid cards, as well as mobile payments. The team will have cash-to-card kiosks in the concourse for prepaid cards, team officials added.
Other measures include more hand sanitizer stations throughout the ballpark and increased signage to promote physical distancing. The cap on attendance and other public health guidelines will remain in place for at least the start of the season.
There will also be increased netting from what fans experienced in 2019, which was installed last year before COVID-19.
The team will open ticket sales online at 10 a.m. on April 8 and through the phone at 801-325-2337.
The Salt Lake Bees didn't play in 2020 due to COVID-19, which resulted in the full cancellation of the minor league baseball season. This year's season also got delayed; it was postponed to May 6 following a decision made by Major League Baseball earlier this month to delay the Triple-A season for safety protocols.
Meanwhile, the Bees' opening day roster is slowly getting clearer but won't be official until closer to May. The Los Angeles Angels, the team's parent club, is set to open its season Thursday against the Chicago White Sox.
The team optioned a few of its 2020 roster players to Salt Lake in recent days ahead of Opening Day. They include outfielder Jo Adell, pitcher Ty Buttrey and infielder Luis Rengifo.
