Sadly, this is just so Texas Rangers. In a season they are to unveil a new ballpark its opening has been derailed by a virus the world has never seen.
Obviously, it's not their fault.
Neither is the fact that they can't do much of anything until MLB makes a formal announcement about what time of day it is. The calendar says it's April, but it might as well be October.
Fans with Texas Rangers tickets for games "already played," or soon-to-be-played, at Global Pandemic Life Field are going to have to wait until MLB decides what it's going to do with this season.
This is not a Rangers' decision.
There is this issue, and what to do with the Texas Rangers' 2020 Opening Day. Of the 30 Opening Day celebrations around the country, ours is the only one that would include the christening of a new stadium.
Until MLB cancels a game, the Rangers can't do much of anything regarding fans who have tickets to Opening Day, or any of the 12 games that should have been played at Globe Life Field thus far.
Fans who are irritated they have not been given a refund on tickets they purchased for a single game that should have been played will be be given that option. They're just like everyone else; they have to wait.
"Once they actually cancel a game we can do something," Texas Rangers VP of communications John Blake said. "Our reps are staying in touch with season-ticket holders. When we know what MLB is going to do, we will be able to offer (ticket holders) several choices. We will come out with policies when we have a better idea. That's the problem."
"How many home games will we have? We just don't know."
As of April 22, the Rangers would have played four series, including back-to-back three game sets with the Houston Astros and New York Yankees. The Yankees' three-game set from April 13-15 was their only scheduled appearance in Arlington this season.
Typically, the Yankees are the most in-demand tickets on the schedule for most teams.
With that series "gone," it doesn't mean the Yankees won't return to Arlington until 2021. That, however, is a distinct possibility.
Until MLB announces what it plans to do, fans who purchased tickets for the Rangers' game against the Yankees on, say, April 14 may still be able to use them if the date is rescheduled.
Fans, and season ticket holders, who have Opening Day tickets for the Rangers' game against L.A. Angles on March 31 were scheduled to receive a commemorative hard ticket encased in glass. Blake said those ticket holders will still receive their keepsake.
Here is the problem for the Rangers: What is Opening Day?
If MLB approves one of the potential scenarios floated around to start the season in a neutral site area with no fans in the stands, technically the first game in that situation is "Opening Day 2020."
It's also not. It's more like, "Money Day 2020."
If and when MLB approves the return of fans to the stands, and teams play in their home parks, that is Opening Day.
The Rangers plan to accommodate the fans who had tickets for Opening Day 2020 on March 31 for whatever date/opponent is eventually set.
"If you bought a ticket for Opening Day, you're going to have a ticket for Opening Day," Blake said.
As far as the pregame festivities are concerned, Blake said the Rangers will acknowledge the unique circumstances surrounding not just the new park, but the situation that we are all in.
"We're going to obviously make a big deal of it. It will certainly take on a different tone," he said. "Health care will be a big part of it, and recognizing the front line people who are there."
The Rangers are doing what they can to plan, but for fans who want their money back, or be given an option to use that cash for another game, they have to wait until MLB decides when and if the season will resume.
