The San Luis Obispo Blues kicked off their 2021 home opener Tuesday afternoon at Sinsheimer Stadium.
Baseball fans in attendance were still required to wear a mask into the ballpark.
Blues fan Noah Warnke said, “Sure it’s a lot different with the masks and everything, there isn’t a kid’s zone, but it’s pretty good. It’s a fresh start.”
Blues General Manager Adam Stowe said, “The current plan is to require masks all season long unless you’re eating or drinking. That includes players in the dugouts, people in the stands, and all of our staff.”
Assistant General Manager Dana Applegarth said, “There are people that aren’t totally comfortable with it and we have been wearing them for the past year. One more day won’t hurt.”
Blues fan Rusty Davis said, “Wearing the mask or not wearing the mask, I love being at the ballpark. I love watching the games and the fans miss coming out to the ballpark and watching an exciting game. Look around, look at the community that is here. They’re here to support our local team.”
Blues fan Tom Berg said, “I want to see them win all of the games and go on to the big time.”
The Blues played in a home game for the first time in two years.
Stowe said, “It was hard enough to bite one year without any revenue for 12 months. Two years would have shut us down. We’ve been waiting for this day for two years but the support from the community, our host families, our interns and our fans has been unreal. We’re still here, we’re proud to be here and we plan to be here for a long time.”
Applegarth said, “We went to a game over the weekend and we just couldn’t wait to have the environment, the people and have the Blues back.”
1,500 fans were on hand Tuesday afternoon to watch the Blues take on the Crawdads.
The Blues recommend that fans buy tickets ahead of time for Friday Night Fireworks as they expect to sell out by game day.
