Baseball postseason crowd to be reduced under tighter social distancing rules

▲ Fans attend Game 1 of the Korea Baseball Organization second-round postseason series between the Doosan Bears and the KT Wiz at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 9, 2020. (Yonhap)

▲ Fans of the Doosan Bears cheer on their Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club during Game 3 of the second-round postseason series against the KT Wiz at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 12, 2020. (Yonhap)

▲ Fans attend Game 2 of the Korea Baseball Organization second-round postseason series between the Doosan Bears and the KT Wiz at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 10, 2020. (Yonhap)

baseball-crowd reduction

Baseball postseason crowd to be reduced under tighter social distancing rules

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Yonhap) -- With the announcement on Tuesday that the social distancing rules will be tightened in the greater Seoul area due to a spike in new coronavirus cases, the size of the crowd in the baseball championship series will be reduced starting this week.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) had been admitting crowds at 50 percent of the stadium capacity during the ongoing postseason. But as the social distancing scheme moves from Level 1 to Level 1.5 in the new five-tier system effective Thursday, crowds for all games played after that must be limited to 30 percent of the capacity.

The Korean Series, the KBO's championship round, will begin later Tuesday, pitting the NC Dinos against the Doosan Bears. All games of the best-of-seven series will be played at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. Game 2 is Wednesday evening, and the new rule will affect Friday's Game 3 and beyond.

The dome has been accepting a crowd of up to 8,200 fans and sold out three of the four games of the previous round between the Bears and the KT Wiz.

As the only domed ballpark in South Korea, Gocheok is serving as the neutral venue for the final two rounds of the postseason to protect fans and players alike against cold November conditions. Postseason games are typically played in October at clubs' own stadiums.

But this year, the start of the regular season was postponed from March 28 to May 5 because of the coronavirus pandemic, and after teams played a full 144-game schedule, the beginning of the postseason was naturally pushed back, too.

Most of the regular season were played without any fans. Teams enjoyed a brief window, from late July to early August, when a limited number of fans could attend games, but a spike in COVID-19 cases forced them to shut the gates back. They opened back up in October, in time for the postseason, but with the finish line in sight, the KBO has been dealt another blow.

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