New York Yankees, New York Mets Schedule 2021: Ticket Details as Full Crowds Return to Ballparks
Full crowds will return to ballparks in New York City from later this month, with both Yankee Stadium and Citi Field allowed to operate at 100 percent capacity as long as spectators are vaccinated.
Attendance for home games is currently capped at 20 percent of capacity for both the New York Yankees and the New York Mets, but New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday that from May 19 the limit will no longer apply for fans that have been vaccinated.
Sections of the ballparks hosting non-vaccinated fans, however, will still be required to operate at 33 percent capacity with social distancing measures in place.
"Theoretically if you had 100 percent [of fans] vaccinated, you could fill the entire stadium with 100 percent vaccinated," Cuomo said at a press conference he held with Yankees president Randy Levine and his Mets counterpart Sandy Alderson.
"Unvaccinated, it is still the six-feet social distancing [rule]. In other words, our capacity restrictions have been relaxed subject to the federal CDC social-distancing guideline of six feet [apart]."
The earliest the Yankees will be allowed to play in front of a sold-out crowd will be May 21—on May 19, the team is scheduled to play the third instalment of a four-game road stand against the Texas Rangers—when they host the Chicago White Sox in the first game of a triple-header, which will be followed by a three-game home stand against the Toronto Blue Jays beginning on May 25.
Following a three-game road trip against the Detroit Tigers, the Yankees return home on May 31 for the first of four games against the Tampa Bay Rays, which is followed by a three-game home stand against the Boston Red Sox.
Mets fans, meanwhile, will have to wait a little longer to flock to Citi Field, as May 19 marks the end of the Mets' three-game road trip against the Atlanta Braves. Following a three-game stand in Miami against the Marlins, the Mets return home on May 24 for the first of four games against the Colorado Rockies, to be followed by a three-game home stand against the Braves.
Yankees tickets can be purchased on Ticketmaster.com, while Mets tickets are available here. Tickets for individual games are available for both teams and both the Yankees and Mets will be giving away free tickets to fans who get vaccinated at their ballparks, which will offer the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccination.
"You take a vaccine shot, get a voucher, you can go to that game," Levine said.
"If that game's sold out, you can go tomorrow night, go to a game of your choice."
"We've been polling our fans. I think the majority are vaccinated rather than unvaccinated who are coming in. And hopefully those numbers continue to rise. But we will have separate sections and accommodate all our season ticket holders, make sure that they're fine, and other people coming in."
Attendance at MLB ballparks varies greatly depending on local regulations and the policies of individual teams. On Wednesday, the Arizona Diamondbacks became the latest franchise to confirm the cap on attendance will be removed.
"While the seating restrictions will no longer be in place, we believe seat selection for the majority of games should still allow fans to spread out," Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall said in a statement.
The Diamondbacks' Chase Field has operated at close to 50 percent capacity so far this season.
