Cubs receive permission to have 25 percent capacity at Sloan Park this spring

Previously, I reported that the Cubs had told Sloan Park season-ticket holders that there would be no season tickets in 2021, and later the team sent out updated information noting that season-ticket holders would get refunds or credits for what they’d paid for 2021 and would have access to a presale for single-game tickets.

Monday, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reported that the Cubs have received permission to have 25 percent capacity at Sloan Park:

The city of Mesa, Maricopa County and the state of Arizona have given the Cubs the green light to have fans up to 25% capacity at Sloan Park for spring training games. The Cubs are hoping to put 3,500 or more fans in Sloan Park, whose 15,000-person capacity is the biggest of any team in spring training in Arizona or Florida.

There will be COVID-19 protocols in place, including mask-wearing when not eating or drinking, and tickets sold in “pods” of two, four or six. Also:

“We will have different locations and protocols regarding the selling of concessions this season,” Cubs general manager of spring training operations Justin Piper said. “Staying within guidelines for CDC protocol protection and enjoyment of the game will be our goal for our fans this spring. We submitted a plan to the governor, and it was approved with these important guidelines in place.”

Also, as I noted here earlier Monday, MLB is revising the Grapefruit League schedule to have teams in “pods” (a popular word these days!) in order to reduce travel for spring games in Florida. Doing so would also keep contact between teams from different areas to a minimum. It’s also possible that MLB is going to do this for Cactus League games in Arizona. Even though travel distances for Arizona spring games aren’t as long as they are in Florida, having teams from different parts of the Phoenix area separated to reduce contact between clubs is probably a good idea.

We stand today just 19 days from the scheduled first Cubs spring game, February 27 vs. the Dodgers at Sloan Park. There’s been no indication the spring schedule will be delayed, but it remains to be seen whether that matchup happens as planned.

As always, we await develoments.