When the Tampa Bay Rays come to Opening Day of the 2021 season, they now know how many people could be at the ballpark.
Tampa Bay’s opponent for Opening Day, the Miami Marlins, announced Monday that they expect to start the year with a 20 percent capacity at Marlins Park, according to Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald.
Derek Jeter estimates a 20 percent capacity at Marlins Park to start the season. #Marlins
— Jordan McPherson (@J_McPherson1126) February 15, 2021
With a normal capacity of 36,742, that would put a maximum of 7,348 fans in the seats for the opener on April 1.
Tampa Bay has not lost at Marlins Park since July 4, 2018. They swept the two-game series in South Florida with Miami in 2019, and won all three games played there during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.
The Rays have already said they expect to allow around 7,000 fans at Tropicana Field to begin the home portion of the 2021 season, which starts April 9.
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
