CLEVELAND — Gov. Mike DeWine recently announced that outdoor sporting venues, such as the Cleveland Indians’ Progressive Field, would be able to open the season hosting fans at 30% to start with hopes of increasing that as the season progresses.
Those hopes are even higher than some might have expected as the governor said that by July 4 he hopes to see Progressive Field back at full capacity.
The governor made the comment while speaking at a vaccination event in East Cleveland Friday morning.
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“We're going to get there in the not too distant future,” DeWine said. “I've described opening day in Cleveland, Indians’ 30% capacity, but we could be moving away from that by May 1 and I would hope that by the time we get to July 4 we might be full capacity.”
DeWine said that those hopes are fueled by the increased ability to vaccinate individuals, and the ultimate factor in how quickly events like baseball games get somewhat back to normal depends on how many people receive the vaccination.
“It depends on how many people get vaccinated and this is something that when you get vaccinated, you're doing something for yourself. I look at these as kind of a ticket to freedom, a ticket to get back to normal,” DeWine said while holding up a face mask. “And the vaccination, those two things, is how we get back to normal.”
Currently, the Tribe is allowed to start the season on April 5, Opening Day at Progressive Field, at 30% capacity—the same percentage as other outdoor venues.
Indoor entertainment and sporting venues are currently allowed to hold 25% capacity.
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