After weeks of frustration within the teams, the Cubs and White Sox have been approved for 100% capacity in the stands, with the Cubs announcing they’ll start selling tickets to the entire stadium on Saturday.
The White Sox are expected to follow suit soon.
Both teams banded together in lobbying the city of Chicago to allow for 100% capacity. But as other cities were opening up, Chicago didn’t budge. Once the state of Illinois announced a move to a final Phase 5 of reopening on June 11, the city finally announced the same a few days later.
The Cubs host the St. Louis Cardinals in a huge rivalry series the weekend of June 11 and were hoping they would get the go-ahead for full capacity so they could send season-ticket holders back to their normal seats and fill up Wrigley Field.
Both teams need to hire a large number of game-day employees to accommodate the increase from 60% capacity to 100%, so they needed as much advance notice as possible — hence the nervous frustration with the city.
The White Sox are expected to be ready for 100% capacity by the time a homestand begins on June 25.