Cleveland Indians ban fans from spring training practices in Goodyear

The Cleveland Indians will not be allowing fans to watch their spring training workouts in Arizona due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The team said Monday that, per MLB guidelines, the club’s player development complex in Goodyear, Ariz., will not be open to fans. Cleveland’s facility is adjacent to one for the Cincinnati Reds.

There has not yet been a decision on whether fans will be able to attend spring training games at Goodyear Ballpark, which the Indians and Reds share as their home stadium. The Indians said Goodyear city officials are working with MLB to determine a fan policy.

Players are expected to report to Arizona in two weeks.

Meanwhile, Major League Baseball has proposed a one-month delay in starting spring training due to the pandemic.

Under the plan presented to the players’ union on Friday, the regular season would be cut from 162 games to 154 if MLB pushed back opening day to April 28, two people familiar with the plan told The Associated Press.

All players would report for spring training on March 22, back from the current calendar that calls a voluntary reporting date of Feb. 17 for pitchers, catchers and injured players, and Feb. 22 for others.

Opening Day would be pushed back 27 days from its currently scheduled April 1 date and the regular season would end Oct. 10 instead of Oct. 3. The postseason would extend into November.

Cactus League executive director Bridget Binsbacher and members of a Cactus League committee representing all eight locales and all 10 spring training facilities in the Phoenix area wrote a letter to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred two weeks ago, asking for a delay to spring training in Arizona due to the state’s high coronavirus infection numbers.

“I think there’s no doubt that spring training is going to look different as far as fans go. We’re hopeful,” Binsbacher told KTAR News 92.3 FM last Monday. “At the forefront of everything we do is public health and safety, but we do believe that we could, with the necessarily protocols in place, be prepared for a safe spring training whether it starts on the 27th or after that.

“I think the trends are definitely moving us in the right direction.”

Arizona health officials on Monday reported 3,741 new coronavirus cases, the smallest daily increase of the year, and four additional deaths from COVID-19.

As of Sunday’s update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Arizona continued to lead the nation in average cases per capita over the last seven days and was No. 2 in deaths behind Alabama.

Key metrics indicate that the massive surge in Arizona that started in November is past its peak, mirroring national trends, but the virus remains widespread across the state.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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