Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
Major League Baseball left refund policies in individual teams’ hands, and the Giants are doing right by their fans.
Because the shelter-in-place guidelines for the Bay Area have been extended through the end of May, the Giants are working with ticket holders who had purchased Oracle Park seats for April and May games. Essentially, fans can receive refunds or account credits for the games that have been wiped away, with incentives for credits.
Single-game ticket holders could opt to receive a credit that can be used for 2021 tickets at exclusive preferred pricing levels. For season-ticket holders and those in suites, groups or premium packages, they can receive an account credit and a 5 percent bonus based on the face value for any impacted games toward their 2021 season renewal. But these are just options; fans who want their money back during the coronavirus pandemic can get their money back.
While they are honoring just April and May returns right now, the Giants will continue with the same policies if (and when) games that required a calendar flip get canceled.
Emails went out to ticket holders Wednesday, shortly after MLB conveyed to teams they could handle the refund policies on their own.
“Our goal is to provide as much flexibility as possible for our ticket holders,” a line of the email from the Giants reads.
It is possible a game is not staged at Oracle Park this season as 1) Major League Baseball seeks any open avenue that would allow games to be played and 2) California is more careful than other states about re-opening. A number of possible plans have been discussed that would allow for some version of an MLB season, including the Giants playing games at their Scottsdale spring home. The most recent idea leaked to media involved teams being allowed to play at their regular homes starting in late June or early July, but without fans.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled his four stages toward reopening on Tuesday, with Stage 3 involving closed-door sporting events. If there are games at Oracle Park this season, there would first be games without fans.