“Stadiums, whether it be where the Mavericks play or the Texas Rangers play or the Dallas Cowboys play, will be able to seat [at] 50% capacity,” Abbott told KDFW-TV late Wednesday.
The two sporting events set to take place in the state this month, NASCAR's Genesys 300 (June 6) and the PGA Tour's Charles Schwab Challenge (June 11-14, have already announced that they didn't have enough time to prepare to host fans.
When speaking with 1080 KRLD last week, TMS president Eddie Gossage said while he's disappointed they won't have fans at this weekend's race, he is hopeful that the NASCAR races that were postponed in March will be be permitted to have fans attend when they are rescheduled at the end of the summer.
"Our March weekend races will be run later this summer and when that happens, boy, it would sure be nice to have the place open and operating just like it always is and has been. That's what we got our fingers crossed on. We got a plan in place that we would try and roll out if we can do that, so we'll just have to wait and see," he said.
When asked to comment on the governor's intial order last week, the Rangers released the following statement to KRLD:
“The Texas Rangers are looking forward to the potential of returning to play in 2020. Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association are having ongoing discussions about that possibility at the present time, and the Rangers have begun operational planning for if and when we have a spring training and regular season games at Globe Life Field. The health and safety of our players, staff, and fans are a top priority, and we will await further information and guidance from Major League Baseball and the appropriate health authorities in the coming days and weeks.”
As for the Dallas Cowboys, they declined to comment on this story.
Abbott's ruling doesn't automatically mean that the Mavericks, Rangers, Stars, Cowboys and FC Dallas will be permitted to have fans attend games. Those decisions will likely be made by their respective leagues, as it's a disadvantage for some teams to have fans attend their home games, while others will not be permitted to host fans in their stadiums and arenas.