Phillies will have 8,800 fans on opening day but could add more as season goes on

Joe Girardi has been a part of more than 30 opening days as a player, coach, manager, and broadcaster. The game is always significant as it begins a new season, but Girardi said he has trouble pulling specific memories from most of them.

This year -- when the Phillies welcome fans back to Citizens Bank Park for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic forced them to play last season in empty stadiums -- will be different.

“I think it’s one we’ll never forget,” Girardi said. “This is one that we’ll probably never forget because of what we’ve been through the last year and how appreciative we are that fans are back in the stands.”

The Phillies announced Tuesday that they can begin the season with 8,800 fans in the stands after the city relaxed its COVID-19 gatherings to allow outdoor gatherings at 20% capacity. The team’s ballpark has a capacity of 42,972.

The Phillies will first offer tickets to season-ticket holders before selling to the general public on March 12. Only tickets to the first 19 games — starting with opening day on April 1 against the Atlanta Braves — will be released before the remaining 62 home games go on sale in early April. All tickets will be mobile and will be sold only on the team’s website.

The Phillies are withholding tickets for games beyond the first 19 because the number of tickets allowed to be sold could increase or decrease depending on the trajectory of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Let me put out a warning,” city health commissioner Thomas Farley said after announcing the city would relax restrictions. “The increase in the number of cases in the region is absolutely a reason to be concerned. This epidemic isn’t finished yet. It’s surprised us in the past and likely will again.”

All fans age 2 or older must wear a mask over their nose and mouth at all times on ballpark property, the team said, except when eating or drinking at their seats. Fans will be seated in pods of two, three, or four people, with limited pods available for five or six people. The team is using similar policies for spring training games in Clearwater, Fla.

The Phillies said Citizens Bank Park will be cleaned and disinfected before, during, and after each game by the “Clean Team.” Also, hand-sanitizing stations will be available.

“We have been diligently working with our city and state officials to finalize health and safety protocols at Citizens Bank Park. With these important measures now in place, we are excited to safely welcome a limited number of our fans back to the ballpark experience,” Phillies executive vice president David Buck said in a statement. “The unmatched energy our fans bring to the game has undoubtedly been missed, and we can’t wait to hear their cheers once again come Opening Day.”

The Phillies have not had fans inside their ballpark since Sept. 29, 2019. Gabe Kapler was still the manager, Matt Klentak was the general manager, and 14 of the 19 players who took the field for the Phillies that day are no longer with the organization.

They played 30 home games last season with empty seats, as the closest fans could get was peering through a locked gate beyond center field. The airhorns blasted by The Phandemic Krew are not allowed inside the ballpark.

The Phillies said the pandemic-shortened season cost them $145 million. They reduced their workforce by more than 80 positions in the offseason and seemed tepid on expanding their payroll.

But they ended up committing $160 million to free agents, more than any National League team, and gave Dave Dombrowski $20 million over four years to be the president of baseball operations. The Phillies lost money last season but seemed to operate during the second half of the offseason with the expectation that fans would return in 2021. Those expectations became reality on Tuesday.

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