TinCaps and Komets welcome fans at limited capacity, no plans to fully open just yet

While fans won’t see packed stadiums in the immediate future for TinCaps and Komets games, both teams say they’re just grateful fans can watch them compete in person at all.

The memorial coliseum hasn't been packed full with sports fans in over a year.neither has parkview field.and while both stadiums right now are selling tickets again, they aren't operating like normal just yetfox 55's drew frey tells us what restrictions to expect, and when things could change.

3 the fort wayne komets are almost two months into their mid-pandemic schedule.mf: we feel we've done everything humanly possible to keep it safe.and now it's the tincaps' turn to navigate the start of their season with fans.jn: all fans here at the ballpark will be wearing masks and practicing physical distancing.

We've got hand sanitizing stations set up around the ballpark.

- we have seating pods, very similar to what fans are experiencing these days over at the coliseum for the komets.the hockey team is selling less than a quarter of the coliseum's seats per game.

Komets president michael franke says he doesn't expect that to change for the rest of the season.mf: we've made a decision that at least through the end of may, we're going to stick with the current capacity even if we have an opportunity to go up quite a bit.

We just think from a safety standpoint that we're better off staying where we're at.

It's worked so far for us since february, so we just don't want to take any chances.

Standup: while fans won't see packed stadiums in the immediate future for tincaps and komets games, both teams say they're just grateful fans can watch them compete in person at all.mf: we wouldn't have been able to do it had there not been any fans.

Financially it would not have made sense.

It doesn't make a whole heck of financial sense right now, but the decision was made basically because we were concerned, what would komet hockey look like if we were out 19 months?the tincaps haven't played a game in almost 20 months.they plan to have about 3000 fans, or 25 percent capacity, at their first game, but hope for more throughout the summer.jn: but we certainly are optimistic that from the time our season starts on may fourth to when it ends in the middle of september, that we'll see progress and get closer and closer to what we remember as being normal.in fort wayne, i'm drew frey, fox 55 news.

Parkview field will host 26 games until the tincaps season starts...both high school and college games.the first being earlier