Opening Weekend Tickets Go On Sale Monday

Pippins announce ticket, concessions procedures for 2021 season

YAKIMA, Wash. — Single-game tickets for the Yakima Valley Pippins’ season-opening weekend series against the Corvallis Knights will go on sale Monday.

Because of COVID-19 safety protocols, only a limited number of tickets will be available for games until protocols are relaxed, Pippins general manager Jeff Garretson said. Under Phase 3 guidelines, Yakima County Stadium can operate at 25 percent capacity — and that means the Pippins can only have a maximum of 700 spectators per game.

“Our hope is that protocols will become less restrictive as we move into the summer,” Garretson said. “Seven hundred fans per night isn’t a lot, but the alternative of not having another summer of West Coast League baseball is worse. We will operate safely according to state and local guidelines, and we’ll still have a ton of fun at The Orchard.”

For the June 4 season opener, with postgame fireworks and a free souvenir blanket giveaway courtesy of Legends Casino Hotel, a maximum of about 400 tickets will go on sale Monday, Garretson said. About 450 tickets are available for the June 5 and June 6 games.

Tickets will be available at PippinsTickets.com beginning at 9 a.m. Monday, or by calling 509-575-4487 after 10 a.m. Monday. All ticket purchases will be by credit card only.

Garretson doesn’t expect to have the stadium box office open for walk-up ticket sales at game time unless necessary. A box office window likely will be open for Will Call tickets or ticket purchases earlier during the day on game days, he said.

Because of social distancing protocols, all available seats will be grouped in seating pods from 1-6 seats in each pod. All seats in the pod must be purchased in a transaction, so Garretson suggests buying tickets early.

“If you wait to purchase two tickets, there may be only a pod of four or five available, for example, and you’d have to buy all the seats. My suggestion is to buy early.”

Garretson said the Pippins are reviewing whether to add one or more vaccinated-only sections in the ballpark, which would allow capacity to increase. But it’s unlikely vaccinated-only sections would be available early in June, he said.

The Orchard also will be cash-free for concessions, merchandise and parking purchases — at least for the first several weeks, Garretson said.

“We’re trying to keep everyone as safe as possible, and limit potential vectors for transmission,” he said. “The Mariners are doing that at T-Mobile, and other venues across the country are handling operations in a similar way.”

Earlier this year, the Pippins announced a partnership with FanFood, a mobile application that will allow fans to order and pay for their food in the app. A text message will be sent to the customer when the order is ready for pickup. The app is available for download on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

“That will help us eliminate long lines and allow fans to watch more of the game instead of waiting in line,” Garretson said.

Some, but not all, of the Pippins’ usual concession stands will be open this summer to encourage fans to use the FanFood app and to limit people gathering in lines to place food orders.

Seating in Lefty’s Bar on the third-base side of the stadium and the Pippins Picnic Deck on the first-base side of the stadium won’t be available at least for opening weekend, Garretson said.

By Yakima Valley Pippins

May 7, 2021