Nippon Professional Baseball has brought back spectators to stadiums on Friday. This season's games had been held without spectators to curb the novel coronavirus outbreak. Although the number of spectators was limited to 5,000, and the use of musical instruments and the singing of cheer songs were banned, fans enjoyed the excitement of live games.
The game between the Yomiuri Giants and the Tokyo Yakult Swallows scheduled to be held at Hotto Motto Field Kobe was rained out, but the other five games were held.
At ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba for the game between the Chiba Lotte Marines and the Saitama Seibu Lions, spectators began to arrive before the gates opened at 4 p.m. and entered the stadium after undergoing temperature checks and disinfecting their hands with alcohol.
Just before 6 p.m., "Thank you for waiting, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome back to ZOZO Marine Stadium," could be heard over the stadium speakers, causing fans to burst into applause. After the game began, spectator applause reverberated throughout the stadium each time the pitchers threw.
A self-employed 44-year-old from Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, who usually attends most Marines home games every year, arrived at the stadium about 6-1/2 hours before the game and purchased team goods, saying "I want to express my feelings by showing off my team merchandise because I can't cheer loudly [to prevent infections]."
"I have watched all the games on TV, but the atmosphere is different when I see them play at the stadium," a 68-year-old Chiba man said.
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