District officials approved on Monday the Washington Nationals’ request to have 5,000 viewers at their home games in the regular MLB season.
The new season will start next month with the Opening Day game against the New York Mets on Thursday, April 1. ESPN will air the Opening Day game nationally at 7:09 pm ET.
Fans will be returning to the stands of Nationals Park after more than a year.
“We are happy to welcome a limited number of the best fans in baseball back home to Nationals Park on Opening Day,” Mark Lerner, managing principal owner of the Nationals, said in a release on Tuesday.
The Washington Nationals, with approval from the Government of the District of Columbia and @MLB, will welcome fans back to Nationals Park on Opening Day.
🔗 // https://t.co/nAh9X4Z7gp pic.twitter.com/dOMvFwNt0N
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) March 16, 2021
“Our organization has worked tirelessly with the District of Columbia, nationally-renowned health experts, including Crown & Company, whose principals have guided FIFA and the IOC, and also Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, as well as Major League Baseball, to craft protocols to ensure the safety and well-being of our players, coaches, employees, and our fans as we reopen the ballpark to the public,” Lerner added.
The Nationals are currently working to increase their capacity in the coming weeks, according to Lerner.
The team will offer priority ticket access to NATS PLUS members based on tenure and ticket package size while the capacity limitations are in place.
DC United also got approval to operate Audi Field at 10 percent of the stadium’s capacity, which will allow up to 2,000 spectators in. The team’s first match is scheduled for April 17 against New York City FC.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration is planning to reassess capacity limitations in April.