A rain delay on opening day didn’t wash away the excitement for White Sox fans on Thursday.
By 5:20 p.m., the tarp was off and the game was underway, roughly two hours after the initial scheduled time.
Die-hard fans like Aaron Saldana came with a full skull mask and sunglasses on what was a very rainy day.
“It’s a cloudy day but I had to wear my glasses because the future is so bright for the White Sox,” said Saldana.
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Ed Jacob, a season ticket holder for the past 21 years, says he couldn’t sleep the night before after going 18 months without visiting Guaranteed Rate Field because of last year’s pandemic restrictions.
“When you come to the park, there’s a shared sense of community. That’s one of the things we lost over the last year,” said Jacob.
Surrounding businesses are also cheering on opening day after suffering revenue losses last season.
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Joseph Micetich, manager of Cork and Kerry, says he’s happy to see fans back in his business; the same fans who helped keep the business afloat in order to make it to opening day.
“We had to get through it but hopefully now this year it’s going to be a little better,” said Micetich.
Stephanie Ganal’s family business of 35 years says opening day is emotional.
She’s been watching, now running her family owned sports retail store, Grandstand, since she was just 3 years old.
“It’s a very promising day today to come back to this and have everybody coming back out,” said Ganal.
There are some changes in ballpark this season.
Sheena Quinn, director of public relations, says the ballpark is cashless this season, and groups of up to six people will be put in “pods.”
“Every zone is going to have its own concessions, retail, and bathroom area for fans in that section,” said Quinn.
The city has put a 25% capacity limit on ballparks.
