(670 The Score) The Cubs received approval from the city of Chicago on Monday to host fans at 20% capacity inside Wrigley Field to open the regular season. It means a crowd of up to 8,274 fans will be allowed for Opening Day on April 1.
It's a starting point from which they will work, Cubs president of business operations Crane Kenney said. He anticipates that with the continued decrease in COVID-19 numbers and an increase in vaccinations, the Cubs will next expand their capacity to 30% and ideally have a full Wrigley Field at 100% capacity later in the season.
Any increase in capacity for Wrigley Field would be subject to the approval of city and state health officials, Kenney said. The Cubs created their plan for a return of fans to the ballpark in consultation with local health officials.
"We see a path early on, with success early on at 20% to move to 30% and ideally sometime this year, we'd like to see 100% in the ballpark," Kenney said on the Mully & Haugh Show on 670 The Score on Tuesday morning. "Certainly, the goal is by the time we're playing in October, we're seeing a full ballpark.
"As the numbers continue to come down, hopefully, and the availability of the vaccine goes up, we think the percentage attendance continues to ride with them."
While the Cubs and White Sox will open the season at 20% capacity, several other teams in the Midwest will open at a slightly higher mark. The Brewers will allow a fan capacity of 25%, and the Cardinals will be at 32%.
The Cubs will staff Wrigley Field at 100% despite the crowd capacity being 20%, Kenney said. It was part of their promise to the city to create and enforce a safe environment and means the Cubs won't be scaling down labor costs as fans socially distance throughout the park to avoid overcrowding.
The Cubs view a fan capacity of 20% as near a break-even point on labor costs, Kenney said. So they'll begin seeing the pay-off on the revenue front once capacity increases.
"The lifeblood of our business is having people in the building," Kenney said. "It's not just the ticket sales and concessions and parking and premium. It's corporate partnership revenue as well. No question, having people in the ballpark will help us this year.
"As we scale up from 20%, you'll start to see some revenue come in. It can be used for players and other things."