DENVER — Restaurant and bar managers near Coors Field are excited the Colorado Rockies are welcoming back fans into the ballpark, even if it's at limited capacity.
On Friday, the team announced it would allow 12,500 fans inside Coors Field on Opening Day, which falls on April 1 — 25% capacity of what the stadium can hold.
"To create a safe and healthy experience for fans, players and staff, the Rockies have implemented all required CDPHE, CDC and MLB policies and guidelines. The Rockies and CDPHE will continue to monitor the conditions, with the hope of safely adding to the capacity number in the future," the team shared in statement Friday morning.
Kyle Hesseltine, general manager of Sports Column, a sports bar on Blake Street, welcomed the news following a rough year because of the pandemic.
"That's the main reason why people want to be down here to be this close to Coors Field," he said.
On a normal game day, Hesseltine's bar would be packed, but with Coors Field closed off to fans and limited capacities inside his bar, it just hasn't been the same.
"We're built on full capacity to make money, and to not be able to do that just really impacts your bottom line," Hesseltine said.
Despite the 25% capacity limit inside the ballpark, this still means more potential customers at a time when every sale counts.
"Well, it certainly will be a different opening day, but we're excited to have the 12,000 people and hopefully it builds," said Brad Manske, vice president of ViewHouse Ballpark.
His eatery has one of the best views of Coors Field. For him, getting fans across the street and into the stadium means one step closer to getting back to normal.
"If everybody follows the rules and we just follow the state guidelines and the city's, we're going to get there faster," Manske said.
Hesseltine is excited about what this could mean for his business.
"Having that many more people actually going to the games, it'll bring some more foot traffic down here. It’ll just liven up downtown as a whole and bring more people," he said.
The Rockies play the Dodgers on April 1.