Fans at Globe Life Field for Texas Rangers, ballpark opener? No. Fanfare? Heck, yes
Fans won’t be in the stands Friday at Globe Life Field for Opening Day and the first regular-season game at the $1.2 billion ballpark, but that doesn’t mean the Texas Rangers won’t gin up some of the usual fanfare that accompanies a non-coronavirus season opener.
Start with the first pitch, which for the second straight year will be delivered by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Unlike last year, though, when he got the final season at Globe Life Park under way, Abbott will make this year’s delivery virtually.
The National Anthem, though, will be sung live by country legend Charley Pride, who continues to own a small share of the Rangers.
The game’s first pitch will be delivered by Lance Lynn somewhere around 7:05 p.m.
The ballpark will be adorned with the traditional red, white and blue bunting, and players will be introduced just as they would during a normal lid-lifter.
It’s a special day for all of them, especially for those on an Opening Day roster for the first time and for Lynn, who is making his first Opening Day start.
Chuck Morgan, the Rangers public address announcer and executive vice president of ballpark entertainment, wants to give them something to remember.
“It’s a special moment for the players,” Morgan said. “I want to make sure that moment is special to them. That they are home, they are in Texas and there are people behind them.”
The Rangers were planning to have fans for the opener before MLB intervened and said no team could have fans until at least August. If those same rules were to apply, the Rangers could, in theory, have fans at their next homestand starting Aug. 7.
They continue to plan for fans to attend at a limited capacity. Abbott’s current ordinance for professional sports leagues would allow venues to have up to 50% capacity, which for the Rangers would be around 20,000 fans.
“We have to be ready if that changes,” said Rob Matwick, the Rangers executive vice president of business operations. “The decision came down: Let’s proceed, minus fans here to get started. We’ve made it successfully through camp. We’re to the industry’s Opening Day. I think it’s an intelligent approach. The commissioner just felt like it was smart to proceed cautiously.”
