SEOUL, June 28 (Yonhap) — The capacity at professional baseball games across South Korea will increase to as much as 70 percent starting in July, with the nation easing social distancing rules during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced Monday that the new social distancing guidelines, to take effect Thursday, will allow its clubs to start admitting more fans to their stadiums.
The greater Seoul area will fall under Level 2 in the new measures, and teams there can operate at 50 percent of their stadium capacity. The rest of the country will be under Level 1, meaning stadiums can be filled at up to 70 percent capacity.
Level 2 will cover: the Doosan Bears and the LG Twins in Seoul, the SSG Landers in Incheon and the KT Wiz in Suwon.
The Kiwoom Heroes also play in the nation’s capital but since they’re based in the indoor venue, Gocheok Sky Dome, their capacity will be set at 40 percent.
The Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon, the NC Dinos in Changwon, the Lotte Giants in Busan and the Kia Tigers in Gwangju will have 70 percent capacity. The Samsung Lions are awaiting an announcement by their home city of Daegu on Tuesday on its own set of social distancing measures.
The KBO spent most of the 2020 season, the first campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic, without fans in the stands. Its teams began this year with limited crowds — as low as 10 percent capacity in the greater Seoul region — and will now enjoy more fans as the season moves closer to the halfway point of a 144-game battle.
Source: Yonhap News Agency