The zip ties are coming off the seats at Comerica Park.
The Tigers announced Friday that they have begun selling more tickets for June games, starting with their first home stand of next month, June 8-13, against the Seattle Mariners and Chicago White Sox.
The state of Michigan announced Thursday that beginning June 1, all outdoor stadium capacity restrictions would be lifted. The Tigers’ capacity has been capped at about 8,200 since the start of the season. The ballclub said in a statement it would start selling a “wider selection” of tickets beginning with June games, then later confirmed it would make all seats available for June and beyond.
“The Tigers are thrilled to welcome back the full roar of the crowd to Comerica Park,” the ballclub said Friday. “We can’t wait to see you back at the ballpark,” the Tigers wrote in an afternoon Twitter post.
The Tigers had been selling single-game tickets on a month-to-month basis, waiting for capacity restrictions to be lifted. They said information on July, August and September ticket sales would be coming soon.
The timing by the state is a little later than the Tigers’ business folks would’ve preferred, given last week’s series against the Chicago Cubs could’ve, conservatively, sold another 60,000 tickets with no capacity restrictions. The order starts after next week’s series against the New York Yankees, another high-profile draw.
The Tigers originally had planned to open the season with about 1,000 fans, until the state approved a late-game increase to 8,200, or 20% capacity of Comerica Park. The Tigers have been selling tickets in at least pairs — no single-ticket sales — and have spaced out fans by putting zip ties on seats and black tape over the numbers on the seats that weren’t available for use. Single-ticket sales will resume again in June.
The Tigers also said Friday staffers would begin contacting season-ticket holders about relocating their seats for the rest of the year. Many season-ticket holders had to move, for socially distanced purposes.
The team’s mask mandate was lifted earlier this month for vaccinated fans, in accordance with another state order.
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tpaul@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tonypaul1984