TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays opened access to refunds or account credits on all their home dates from opening day March 26 through May 31 on Wednesday night, essentially erasing the first two months of the 2020 season because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Season-ticket subscribers, ticket-pack purchasers, group-ticket buyers and executive suite licence holders will all receive an account credit from the team, with the option to get a refund. Those with single-game tickets can request refunds through their Ticketmaster accounts.
The announcement comes a day after Major League Baseball gave teams the go-ahead to develop and launch their own refund policies, an acknowledgement of the obvious fact that a full 162-game campaign is not possible this year.
“The Blue Jays would like to thank fans for their incredible support and patience during this difficult time,” the team said in a statement. “The club will continue to communicate updates about the 2020 schedule as they become available.”
While there is growing optimism that Major League Baseball will be able to stage some sort of season this summer, games are expected to take place at empty stadiums. Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, has said that mass gatherings of any sort are a long way off, a sentiment echoed by health officials in the United States.
Still, Major League Baseball continues to work on a series of scenarios to be prepared for a variety of circumstances depending on the pandemic’s trajectory, with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reporting Tuesday on one plan for a three-division alignment of at least 100 games.
The Blue Jays were among the first batch of teams to reveal their policy, one that comes at a difficult time for clubs with essentially no revenue coming in.
The Boston Red Sox offered refunds, credits or exchanges on all their home games through May 28, giving their season-ticket holders the option of a full refund on impacted dates or a credit towards more tickets later this season or in 2021 along with a 10 per cent bonus.
Those who bought individual tickets can choose between a full refund, a credit for later this year or next year, or the chance to exchange seats for a future game this year.
The Minnesota Twins, in contrast, started with credits or refunds for only their 16 April home dates, under a multi-tiered system. Season-ticket holders are automatically receiving credits along with a 15 per cent bonus toward additional tickets this season or for 2021.
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