STARKVILLE — Dudy Noble Field will be at 25 percent capacity for the 2021 baseball season.
Mississippi State announced the limited attendance number in a release Friday afternoon after school officials gave reporters a tour of the field and ran through new operating procedures related to the COVID-19 pandemic Thursday morning.
“We’re not saying we all love the picture,” Executive Senior Associate A.D./Internal Affairs Jay Logan told reporters Thursday. “But we’ve got to live with it.”
Though MSU did not name an exact figure as to what capacity will be due to ongoing conversations and modeling, the stadium will be at roughly 25 percent of 15,000-plus available seating, while clubs and suites will be limited to a maximum of 75 percent seated capacity (indoor and outdoor). Those capacity limits fall in line with COVID-19 related restrictions from both the governor’s office and the Center for Disease Control.
The largest changes to the game day experience will be in the Left Field Lounge boxes. Patrons will only be allowed to have as many as four people in a given box and will be required to wear a wristband that grants them access to the outfield concourses and walkways. Those without the wristbands will not be allowed to wander through the outfield seats. Left Field Lounge patrons will be asked to enter the stadium through the centerfield gate only.
Student seating will also be under new guidelines this season. Administrators will use the berms down the left and right field lines, plus the usual right field student seating sections to accommodate around 225 people, though that’s still a rough estimate. Students will receive a ticket that grants them access to all three locations and ushers will be responsible for directing them to areas that have available socially distanced seating.
General admission, non-student tickets will not be available this year as everyone aside from students will have a required seat.
Midweek game tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis and will go on sale in the day or two prior to the contest. Weekend series tickets will be made available to purchase based on Bulldog Club standing.
“It’s not because we don’t want to have 15,000 fans in here or as many people as we can,” Logan said of the limited capacity. “We want people to be safe, to be comfortable and to respect each other.”
Other new measures instituted this year to combat the COVID-19 pandemic include required facial coverings over the nose and mouth for fans during ingress, egress and movement throughout the ballpark. Seats will be organized in pods of two and four people from the same household and six-feet of space will be required between parties. Fans will also be asked to fill out a pre-game health screen that includes a temperature check and a review of COVID-19 symptoms.
Walk-up tickets will not be available this season and gates will open an hour before first pitch.
The Left Field Lofts, however, will not fall under Dudy Noble Field’s limited capacity measures, according to MSU officials. They will still be subjected to capacity limits as it relates to fire code and will be limited in how many people can be out on the balconies overlooking the ballpark.
“We want to make sure it’s not a chance for people to have a free for all on the balconies to watch baseball games,” Executive Senior Associate A.D./Bulldog Club & Ticket Operations Mike Richey told reporters Thursday.
MSU begins its season on the weekend of Feb. 19 in Arlington, Texas as part of the State Farm College Baseball Showdown. The Bulldogs will take on No. 3 Texas Tech, No. 9 Texas and No. 10 TCU over the course of three days. MSU’s first home game is slated for Feb. 23 against Jackson State as part of a two-game slate. The Bulldogs’ first Southeastern Conference series will take place between March 26 and 28 against No. 8 Arkansas.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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