The Cleveland Indians will open the 2021 regular season with a limited capacity of just over 10,000 fans in the stands at Progressive Field.
The actual number of fans in attendance could be lower depending on the demand for tickets throughout the month of April.
But the home opener is always a top ticket in town and that remains true this year.
The Athletic’s Zack Meisel sent out a tweet Thursday explaining 2021 will feature another sellout to open the home slate of games.
However, the term “sellout” is used in a different way during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Cleveland's home opener against the Royals on April 5 is officially a sellout or whatever you call it when you're limited to 30% capacity.
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) March 18, 2021
A New Type of Sellout in 2021
The fact stadiums still can’t be full remains a bummer.
But Ohio Governor Mike DeWine did comment recently that the Indians could host a full stadium at some point during the season.
That is a huge reason for optimism.
For now, getting over 10,000 fans in the stands for the home opener is great after the 2020 season was played in front of an empty stadium.
The eerie sounds of the digital cheers are luckily a thing of the past.
Meisel also answered a question about who was eligible for the tickets.
season ticket holders
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) March 18, 2021
It makes sense that season-ticket holders got first dibs on tickets for the home opener.
There are clearly still a lot of logistics to work out and fans will wait and see how tickets are distributed this season.
It may take until May or June before tickets are able to be bought easily from the team.
The secondary market is a whole other story and there should be plenty of people trying to make money on home opener tickets in the coming weeks.
The 2021 Home Opener
The Indians open the regular season on the road April 1 against the Detroit Tigers.
The home opener is a few days later April 5 against the Kansas City Royals.
Even starting the season in April is a nice change after last season.
Getting fans in the stands brings back even more normalcy, even if masks are required for now.
The Indians are on a month-by-month basis when it comes to attendance rules.
Hopefully, May sees an increase in attendance after the protocols get a test in April.
Real fan noise is going to be great and those lucky enough to attend the home opener will take in some history as the first fans to return to the stands in 2021.
If all goes well, more and more fans will return to the corner of Carnegie and Ontario soon enough.
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