Columbia Fireflies will let in fans to start season. Here’s how many
Segra Park will be at 50% capacity when the Columbia Fireflies begin their Minor League Baseball season next month, the team announced Tuesday.
That figure of 50% at the stadium is about 5,000 seats, the team said. Columbia opens up the season at Augusta on May 4, and the team’s home opener is May 11 against Charleston.
“The great thing about this ballpark is that it is big,” Fireflies president John Katz said. “We wanted to make sure we can operate in a safe manner because that is a paramount concern, but also wanted to give people a choice of how they feel sitting.”
The Fireflies and the rest of Minor League Baseball had their seasons canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, they plan to play 120 games, 60 at home, with reduced travel and longer series.
Masks will be required at all times when attending Fireflies games, including when entering the stadium, walking around the concourse, using the restroom or ordering concessions. Fans can remove their masks when eating or drinking in their seats.
All individual game and group tickets will be digital in 2021. Individual game tickets for the season will be released each month to ensure that all safety protocols and precautions remain up to date. Tickets for games in May go on sale April 27. Tickets for the remaining months will go on sale approximately two weeks prior to the first game of the following month.
“We are taking things on a month-by-month basis,” Katz said. “We have a 12-game road trip and won’t be home until June 15, so that will give us a chance to make adjustments. A lot of it will depend how comfortable people are. We are going to make sure we accommodate people’s needs as they come up.”
There will be sections with socially distant seating pods and sections with regular capacity in the seating bowl to begin the season. The left field Bojangles’ Berm will be sectioned off for socially distanced seating, while the right field Bojangles’ Berm will be at a reduced capacity but without the requirement of a 6-feet buffer between pods.
Fans will have the option to select the seating with which they are most comfortable. In socially distanced sections, tickets will be available in pods of two, three, four, five or six.
“We want people to come out here and have fun in an environment they feel safe in,” Katz said.
Group areas will see capacity limits to increase safety in those sections. Areas including the Palmetto Picnic Pavilion will feature socially distanced tables with seating for up to a maximum of six guests at each table. This will allow fans to space out in smaller groups comfortably and safely.
The Fireflies have switched affiliates from the New York Mets to the Kansas City Royals this year and are no longer in the South Atlantic League. The club’s new home is the 12-team Low-A East league, with eight teams located in North or South Carolina. The Low-A East will be divided into three four-team divisions. The others in the Fireflies division will be the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Cubs), Augusta GreenJackets (Braves) and Charleston Riverdogs (Rays).
The season will have 120 games, down from the 132-games Major League Baseball had planned for Class A teams. All series will feature six games. Of those games for Columbia, 102 are against either Charleston, Myrtle Beach or Augusta.
The Fireflies held a mini camp with players last month and now the minor league players are in training until the end of April. The team’s roster will be announced when they break training camp.
Columbia Fireflies 2021 game schedule
- May 4-9: at Augusta
- May 11-16: vs. Charleston
- May 18-23: at Kannapolis
- May 25-30: vs. Augusta
- June 1-6: at Myrtle Beach
- June 8-13: at Charleston
- June 15-20: vs. Augusta
- June 22-27 vs. Myrtle Beach
- June 29-July 4: at Augusta
- July 6-11: vs. Charleston
- July 13-18: at Myrtle Beach
- July 20-25: vs. Augusta
- July 27-Aug. 1: at Charleston
- Aug. 3-8: vs. Myrtle Beach
- Aug. 10-15: vs. Fayetteville
- Aug. 17-22: at Charleston
- Aug. 24-29: at Myrtle Beach
- Aug. 31-Sept. 5: vs. Charleston
- Sept. 7-12: at Augusta
- Sept. 14-19: vs. Kannapolis
This story was originally published April 6, 2021 at 11:29 AM.
