Rangers Ready Globe Life Field For First Opening Day With Fans

Baseball is back, and the Texas Rangers will get to play in front of their fans for the first time at Globe Life Field on April 5.

The Rangers start their season on the road against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday, April 1, but their home opener is next week. This gives the organization time to finalize its plans to be the first pro sports team in North America to welcome back a full capacity crowd.

“Opening Day at Globe Life Field has been a long time coming, both for the organization and for the community,” Rangers executive vice president Rob Matwick told MLB.com. “I can't wait for Rangers fans to actually be able to experience a traditional Opening Day in this fantastic new ballpark.”

The opening day experience will be a new one this year for Rangers fans. Everyone inside Globe Life Field will have to wear a masks and fans will be asked to socially distance on the concourse.

“We expect there to be good cooperation and adherence to the mask requirement from Rangers fans. We saw that for the exhibition games. It's not perfect, but the vast majority of our fans are doing the right thing. In spite of the challenges that the pandemic presents, there is a safe way and a responsible way to conduct events. We look forward to doing that," said Matwick.

The Rangers are also going paperless so fans will have mobile-only tickets and cash won't be accepted for food or merchandise purchases.

Most MLB teams will allow fans into their home stadiums but are capping capacity according to local health regulations. The Rangers will allow up to 40,518 fans inside Globe Life. The Arizona Diamondbacks have the second largest stadium capacity on Opening Day by allowing up to 20,000 fans inside Chase Field, according to CBS Sports.

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