Mayor Walsh: I’m willing to reopen Fenway Park, TD Garden for games, but no fans allowed

Boston Globe ^ | 5/15/20 | Michael Silverman

[Libloather]

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is willing to reopen Fenway Park and TD Garden for Red Sox, Celtics, and Bruins games this summer.

That willingness, though, rests upon non-negotiable conditions: no fans in the stands, and the City of Boston must sign off on advanced health and safety protocols that protect not only the athletes but everyone else reporting to the workplace.

“Yes, as long as the players and the teams and the support staff and all the people that are associated with it are safe and feel comfortable,” said Walsh during a Friday morning telephone interview.

“Obviously, their health is important to me as well. Many of them are constituents of mine, and even if they’re not constituents of mine, I obviously want people to be healthy and safe. That’s going to be the biggest challenge that they’re going to have to figure out and meet if they’re going to move forward here.”

[damper99]

A game without fans is like fishing without any bait.

[Nuc 1.1]

You have that right!

[Verginius Rufus]

They could restrict attendance to one-third of the capacity and still people could have plenty of social distancing. The problems would be with the concession stands and the restrooms, and everyone wanting to leave at once at the end of the game. Maybe have a fireworks display at the end to encourage some people to stay longer?

The Grand Ole Opry was on TV last night--three performers on stage and nobody in the audience. Some new song by someone I had never heard of so I didn't watch it for very long.