Bellone Asks State To Allow 50% Capacity At Smaller Ballparks

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone on Tuesday joined three of his county executive colleagues on a video call to ask New York state to boost the permitted maximum capacity at smaller outdoor stadiums.

State ballparks, including Fairfield Properties Ballpark in Central Islip, currently allow 20 percent capacity for fans wishing to attend games. Bellone would like New York to raise the capacity for smaller outdoor stadiums to 50 percent so the Long Island Ducks, a professional ballclub in the independent Atlantic League, can stay above water.

The 20 percent capacity is practical for major league teams like the Mets or Yankees, Bellone said, but the restriction would effectively prevent the Ducks from returning to play.

"The fact is that these smaller independent minor league teams cannot survive," Bellone said. "They do not have television contracts. They cannot survive at that level."

Bellone was joined by Broome County Executive Jason Garnar, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro and Rockland County Executive Ed Day. The four executives asked the state to separate smaller stadiums from the larger ones in the guidance.

Fairfield Properties Ballpark has a maximum capacity of 6,002, and a 20 percent guideline restriction would slash that number to 1,200 fans per game. Smaller stadiums, Bellone said, are not "in any way comparable" to their larger counterparts. A half-capacity boost for smaller parks would allow 3,001 fans to attend Ducks games.

Outdoor events are "much safer" than indoor ones as far as coronavirus safety, Bellone said.

"The Long Island Ducks have put forward a safety plan that is second to none ... The fact is, at 50 percent capacity, with people wearing face coverings or face masks and maintaining distance between groups in an outdoor stadium, we believe that's about as safe an environment as you can be in, really."

Northwell Health helped the Ducks coordinate its coronavirus safety measures, according to Bellone.

Outdoor events where people are following COVID-19 safety protocols are not responsible for the coronavirus spreading, Bellone said.

"These professional teams, these minor league and independent league teams, are a source of joy for families and kids," he said. "Quite frankly, we need that right now. I think getting them back on the field this spring, playing baseball once again, would be a big shot in the arm and big uplift to the community. It is important to our economy as well."

The Ducks did not play ball in 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

"That was a big loss for us: People not being able to go and watch, in a very family-friendly environment, a professional baseball game being played," Bellone said, calling the start of baseball season a spring rite of passage.

The coronavirus positivity rate in Suffolk County sits between 4 and 5 percent, Bellone said. The rate has been stuck in the same range since early February, according to Bellone.

The county has four mass vaccination sites open: the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge and Suffolk Community College campuses at Brentwood, Selden, and Riverhead.