Yahoo Finance MLB to distribute $1.5M in tickets to essential workers of COVID-19 pandemic
Major League Baseball wants to give back to those who helped the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The league announced Thursday it would distribute $1.5 million in tickets to essential workers.
Teams will be responsible for distributing the tickets, which will be free. All 30 teams will take part, and can determine the seat location, date of the game and number or tickets given out.
In a statement, MLB listed the following groups as essential workers:
• Health Care Personnel (Doctors, Nurses, Patient Care Services, and other hospital staff)
• Grocery Store, Food Service and Delivery workers
• First Responders (Firefighters, Police, Public Safety) and Corrections Officers
• Educational Staff (Teachers, Daycare Personnel, and Support Staff)
• Public Transit Workers
• Food & Agriculture Workers
• Construction and Manufacturing Workers
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said the league was "delighted" to host essential workers, and added he was "grateful for all of them and are honored that they will be at our games all season long.”
Nearly all MLB parks will allow fans in April
With the exception of the postseason, fans were not allowed to attend MLB games in 2020. That won't be the case this season, nearly every MLB team will allow fans to attend games in the April. The only exception is Rogers Centre in Canada.
The Toronto Blue Jays do not have approval to play games in Toronto yet. The team will open the season at TD Bank Park in Florida. TD Bank Park will allow 15% fan capacity to open the season.
Almost every other major league park will allow limited fans to begin the season. Most teams are allowing stadiums to operate at 15%-30% capacity. The lone exception is the Texas Rangers, who will allow 100% fan capacity on opening day.
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