Jun. 2—The Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies will soon be able to welcome full-capacity crowds to Empower Field and Coors Field, the teams announced Wednesday.
The venues were approved for full capacity by the city, state and respective leagues Tuesday. Health orders designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus that limited capacity at events were lifted Monday by state officials.
The Rockies will have full capacity starting June 28 against the Pirates, labeling it as “Opening Day 2.0.” Tickets are on sale for that game, as well as the rest of the season.
“The Colorado Rockies have been approved by the city, state and MLB to host a full-capacity crowd of 50,000 at Coors Field beginning on June 28 through the remainder of the 2021 regular season,” the Rockies said in a statement. “As a celebration of summer and getting people back downtown and into the ballpark, the Rockies have designated the June 28 game vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates as ‘Opening Day 2.0.’ The revised game time will be 3:10 p.m. (formerly a 6:40 start), and it will feature all of the traditional home opener pregame fanfare beginning at 2:30 p.m., including fireworks during the national anthem.”
This also means that the Rockies will be at full capacity for the MLB All-Star week, which begins July 11 with the celebrity softball game. The MLB All-Star Game is July 13, and the MLB draft and futures game will take place during this week. Tickets are on sale for plan holders.
“Full ballparks bring out the best in players, brings out the best in baseball,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “I’m happy for the fans and people who love this game to be able to get that sense of normalcy back in sports.”
And the Broncos will have full capacity starting with their preseason game Aug. 28 against the Los Angeles Rams.
“With Empower Field cleared for full capacity at Broncos games, we’re excited to welcome home the best fans in the NFL,” the Broncos said in a statement. “We’re committed to following the latest COVID-19 medical guidance and encourage all to get vaccinated for the safety of our community.”
For the Broncos, they played without fans for four of their eight home games last season and Empower Field was limited to 5,700 fans for the other four. It’s safe to say they’re excited to welcome back Broncos Country.
“Hell yeah,” defensive linemen Dre’Mont Jones said Wednesday. “We need that. That fan aspect is huge. Last year was really weird. We got just a piece of that when we had a small capacity in the first couple games. … When we lost that, I think that brought my morale down a little bit because you don’t hear the fans screaming. What they do for us is very important. We appreciate what Broncos Country does for us.”