Seattle Sounders to play in front of fans at Lumen Field to kick off 2021 MLS season
Apr 5, 2021, 4:30 PM
Seattle Sounders fans. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
(Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
The Seattle Sounders announced Monday that the team has received approval from the local health authorities to play in front of a limited-capacity crowd at Lumen Field to start their season in mid-April.
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Under the state’s current COVID-19 outdoor event restrictions, teams are permitted to fill stadiums to whichever is less between 25% capacity or 9,000 spectators. That will see the Sounders permitted to bring in 7,000 fans “in the near term, encompassing the first five home matches of 2021, including the club’s 2021 MLS opener” on Friday, April 16.
“This is a day we have been working toward and dreaming about for some time,” Sounders FC Owner & President of Business Operations Peter Tomozawa said in a written release.
“I also want to remind our fans to stay vigilant as we continue battling the pandemic,” he added. “We’re all still doing our part to tackle COVID-19, and we encourage everyone in our community to get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible, and to continue staying distant, masking up and washing their hands.”
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Existing Sounders season ticketholders will get priority access to the first round of tickets on April 13, before the remaining tickets are opened up to the general public on April 14 (provided there is still remaining inventory). In the event a match sells out before a season ticketholder’s gets a chance to purchase a ticket, they will be given priority for the next date.
In accordance with state regulations, face masks will be required for all attendees ages two and up. Face masks will not be required when “actively eating and drinking.”
Ticket groups will be distanced six feet throughout the stadium, with pods permitted of up to six people. The team expects to have “a majority of pods” number between two and four people. All groups must be in the same household, and no more than two will be allowed to share a single row.
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This will mark the first time Lumen Field has hosted fans for a sporting event since the start of the pandemic.
