Mariners get OK to host 9,000 fans per game

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Mariners fans will get their chance to see their team at T-Mobile Park for the first time in a year and a half, as the club on Thursday received approval from the State of Washington and King County to host up to 9,000 fans per game beginning Opening Day on April 1.

Tickets will be available in small, socially distanced pods of 1-6 fans, and pods must be members of the same household. Only the first 11 games of the season will be offered at first, and season-ticket holders will be given initial priority to reserve their seats before they go on sale to single-game buyers on Thursday, March 25, at 10 a.m. PT.

Mariners Mail subscribers will have access to a presale on March 24, and the deadline to register is March 22. All tickets will be available at mariners.com/tickets. Mariners Team Stores will begin selling digital tickets on March 27.

“We desperately missed them last year,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said Thursday before the announcement.

“It does mean the world to us and just the excitement they bring, and I think our fan base is looking forward to laying eyes on a lot of these young players. … Our players have been talking about it openly about how important it is that we do get fans in the ballpark in Seattle.”

The announcement comes one day after Mariners chairman and managing general partner John Stanton said that he was “hopeful” that the club’s 82-page proposal, in addition to Major League Baseball’s 100-page blueprint, would be approved. He and Mariners vice president of ballpark operations Trevor Gooby recently hosted King County director of public health Patty Hayes at the ballpark and outlined how they planned to implement the health and safety protocols.

The Mariners are among the last teams to be approved by the local government. The Nationals, Twins and Blue Jays have not yet received clearance. Minnesota could receive an OK as soon as Friday. The Blue Jays will be opening the regular season with their Spring Training facility in Dunedin, Fla., as their home ballpark.

The Mariners’ plan is guided consultations with the CDC, DHHS, the World Health Organization as well as University of Washington Health Metrics and Evaluation and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, the Seattle Mariners' “Partners in Health.”

Here are the new health and safety measures that will be in place for fans that attend home Mariners games:

? Digital ticketing: To reduce contact between guests and staff, all tickets will be digital.
? Security screening: To speed up entry to the ballpark, and to minimize staff-to-fan cross contamination, no bags and no outside food will be allowed in the ballpark until further notice.
? Cashless transactions: All points of sale at T-Mobile Park will accept only debit and credit cards, gift cards and mobile payments such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. Fans who do not have mobile pay, debit or credit cards can use ReadySTATION? kiosks located around T-Mobile Park to convert cash into Mastercard prepaid debit cards.
? Streamlined menu offerings: Mariners hospitality partner Centerplate has updated ballpark menu offerings to focus on individually packaged items.
? Masks: All guests aged 2 and older, as well as staff, are required to wear masks that cover both the nose and mouth. Masks are required at all times except when actively eating or drinking.
? Cleaning and Sanitation: Enhanced cleaning protocols are in place that utilize the latest technology and products to target suspected or known presence of COVID-19.

For more information about health and safety practices and new protocols for entry and guest experience at T-Mobile Park, fans can visit mariners.com/Safety.

And here is a breakdown of how single-game tickets will work:

? Tickets will go on sale to single-game buyers on Thursday, March 25, at 10 a.m. Tickets are digital only and can only be purchased at mariners.com/tickets. Team Stores will begin selling digital tickets on March 27.
? Tickets will be available in small, socially distanced pods of 1-6 fans. Pods must be members of the same household.
? No printed tickets will be available. All tickets will be digital in order to reduce contact and opportunities for cross contamination between fans and staff.
? Tickets for future games will be made available as local regulations about capacity for outdoor venues continue to evolve.
? Season-ticket memberships: Mariners season-ticket members will receive priority access to available tickets before they are offered to single-game buyers. Fans can reserve their priority access by becoming a season-ticket member. Flex memberships are available now starting as low as $600. More information is available by calling 206-346-4001 and at mariners.com/21.

“The health and safety of our fans, players and employees is our number one consideration,” Stanton said in a statement released on Thursday. “With the guidance of experts and best practices for health and safety, we are thrilled to be able to welcome fans back to T-Mobile Park for the first time since 2019.

“I want to thank Governor Inslee, King County executive Down Constantine and mayor Jenny Durkan for their leadership and Public Health Seattle and King County Director Patty Hayes and her department for their guidance through this process as we have worked to create a safe experience at T-Mobile Park for fans, our players and employees.”