CLEVELAND — Editor's note: the video in the player above is from a previous story.
The Cleveland Indians won't be playing in front of a full capacity of fans on Friday night. But they will be playing in front of as many as they're currently permitted to.
Hours ahead of first pitch, the Indians announced that they have sold enough tickets to reach Progressive Field's 40 percent capacity for Friday night's matchup against the Minnesota Twins. While Ohio doesn't currently possess a capacity limit for outdoor venues, including sports stadiums, they are required to put measures in place to maintain proper social distancing amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
That will change on June 2, when Ohio officially drops all of its coronavirus-related health orders. Earlier this week, the Indians announced that June 2 will also be the day that Progressive Field returns to its full capacity of 35,041 fans, with tickets for Cleveland's remaining home games going on sale on Wednesday, May 26 at 10 a.m. at www.Indians.com/Tickets.
Additionally, on June 2, the wearing of masks at Progressive Field will become optional and no longer mandatory to enter the stadium. Progressive Field will continue to enforce a bag policy of only allowing clutches (9”x5”x2”), medical bags and diaper bags into the park and all tickets will be mobile entry.
After initially opening the season with a 30 percent capacity, the Indians increased their capacity to 40 percent in May. Cleveland played its 2020 regular season, which was shortened to 60 games due to the coronavirus, without any fans permitted to attend games.