Atlanta Braves Hopeful To Have Fans In Attendance For Their Home Opener April 9th

Another team in Major League Baseball is expressing hope that fans will be in the stands on Opening Day. The Atlanta Braves now state fans should be allowed in Truist Park for the start of the season.

Braves team CEO Derek Schiller said Monday that the team will know how many fans will be in the stands and whether Opening Day will be a go by March 12th.

“It’s our belief that we will have fans,” Schiller said to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“The authorities have given us the indication they support that. We’re working with health care providers on making sure we do that in the safest way possible. And also there’s precedent: (some) NBA, NHL and NFL games and even (MLB) postseason games have had some levels of fans in the venues. So we’ve been able to draw from those situations, learn from them.

“We think we’ve got the chance to do this safely and do it right, and we’ll welcome fans come opening day,” Schiller said. “I think some social-distance measures are going to continue to be important, at least to begin with, more than likely. What those are exactly and what the percentage of capacity would be exactly are things that we’re working on right now.”

The Braves are set to open their home slate on April 9th against the Philadelphia Phillies and are scheduled to play 14 home games in April as a whole.

Schiller said that the team will revisit the plan for fans on a month-to-month basis as the country and the state of Georgia revisit the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Schiller, the team is still looking at seating capacity and will keep options open. If there are fans at the opener, it would mark the Braves’ first game at Truist Park with fans in attendance since October of 2019.