Lexington Blowfish deserve to have fans in stands for games. Here’s why
It’s time for the Lexington County Blowfish baseball team to play ball. And it’s time for those games to happen in front of spectators.
The hometown summer league baseball team is a few games into an already shortened 2020 season that’s been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. Those first home games were played inside an empty venue.
The Blowfish have a plan for around 800 fans inside Lexington County Baseball Stadium, or one-third normal capacity. There’s just one big hurdle: Restrictions remain in place in South Carolina on spectator sports, even as youth and adult sports leagues have been cleared to play in front of fans.
The Blowfish have yet to be cleared to be deemed an “essential business,” a designation they’ll need in order to host fans. They’ll ask again Monday. The next home game is Thursday.
Here are three reasons why the decision-makers should say yes and allow fans inside to watch the Blowfish play:
▪ Team owner Bill Shanahan and his staff have a safety-first plan ready. Blowfish staff members will wear face coverings, and fans are encouraged to do the same. And those fans must pass a temperature check before being allowed in the stadium.
The venue has been reconfigured so groups of fans will be seated apart from each other. Social-distancing guidelines are in place for such things as concession lines. Hand sanitizing stations are set up around the ballpark.
Youth summer sports, including baseball and basketball leagues, are going at full throttle or close to it. Myself and members of my staff have been to some of those youth games, and the Blowfish plan for safety is solid if not superior.
▪ The truncated Blowfish schedule includes two Coastal Plain League opponents, the Savannah Bananas and Macon Bacon. Those two teams are playing games at their stadiums in Georgia with fans in the stands. It can be done.
▪ A few dozen players make up the rosters of the Blowfish and the in-town teams that helped fill out the 2020 schedule. Those players and their families are depending on a season to happen in full. The Blowfish will have a decision to make about the fate of the season if fans can’t attend games.
People are trying to regain some sense of normalcy in South Carolina, even as there’s a need to slow the spread of COVID-19. Restaurants can offer indoor dining, and some buffets are open. Our state’s churches are largely reopened for in-person worship, with health protocols in place. Museums and bowling alleys can be open again.
There’s no doubt these are uncertain times. The Columbia Fireflies just had their 2020 wiped away with the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season. There might or might not be a fall football season, at least not a normal one.
The Blowfish deserve a chance to show sports can be safely played with fans in the stands.
