Three Places Sloan is Helping Baseball Make a Hygienic Comeback

Baseball is back!

To millions of American fans, those are the sweetest three words they’ve heard in a long time. The COVID-19 pandemic hit full force in the middle of 2020 Spring Training, wiping out the first half of the Major League Baseball schedule. While MLB was eventually able to hold a 60-game season, some players opted out, and most stadiums were near-empty.

If events go according to plans, 2021 will be different:

• Teams will play a full, 162-game schedule, with teams once again playing all other teams in their leagues.
• Most of the players are back, and rosters have been expanded to include 26 players and a five-man “taxi squad.”
• Best of all, fans will be back in the seats!

Of course, the pandemic hasn’t ended, so most stadiums will still not be at full capacity this season. Even with millions of Americans getting vaccinated against COVID-19, teams have to take hygiene and public health seriously.

Sloan has close partnerships with three MLB teams. Here’s a look at how our partners are preparing to keep fans and players healthy during this much-anticipated season.

The Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field

It’s no secret who we root for once the teams take the field. We’re devoted Chicago Cubs fans, and as the official Water Efficiency Partner for the Chicago Cubs, we proudly “Fly the W” at every chance we get.

All restrooms at Wrigley Field are outfitted with Sloan touch-free faucets and flushometers, as well as Sloan urinals and water closets. The players’ clubhouse restrooms and the American Airlines 1914 Club also feature Sloan products, as do Sloan Park, the Cubs’ Arizona Spring Training facility, and several venues surrounding Wrigley Field in Chicago’s Wrigleyville neighborhood, including Hotel Zachary at Gallagher Way.

Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, Sloan was helping Cubs’ facilities achieve higher hygiene standards with touch-free restroom products that also save water.

If you’re thinking of catching a Cubs game at Wrigley this season, here’s how the facility is making Wrigley Field as safe as possible for fans:

Precautions:

• Masks will be required at all times unless you’re eating or drinking in your seat.
• Each mobile ticket will include an assigned entry gate to limit traffic and prevent congestion.
• Only purses and wallets smaller than 9 x 5 inches will be permitted, to avoid the contact and congestion of bag searches.
• A new touchless screening process lets you keep phones, wallets, and keys in your pockets as you walk through the metal detectors.
• No cash will be accepted at concessions or retail outlets, but you can pay with credit cards, debit cards, or mobile wallets.

The Colorado Rockies and Coors Field

Sloan is proud to provide hygienic solutions for many MLB stadiums where cleanliness is a top priority. When the Colorado Rockies launched a major facelift of 25-year-old Coors Field in Denver in 2019, they specified Sloan products for the renovated restrooms on the stadium’s club level and in the players’ clubhouse.

The new restrooms received Sloan urinals and water closets, along with touch-free flushometers and custom-engraved touch-free faucets that greet club level guests with a unique and elegant aesthetic.

The organization recognized the disease-inhibiting benefits of touch-free restrooms well before the pandemic put the 2020 season in peril. Rockies fans attending games this season will appreciate the enhanced hygiene they provide—along with the sleek design and convenience of the restrooms in the second-largest stadium in Major League Baseball.

Watching the Rockies live this season? Here’s what you need to know:

Maximum attendance: 42.6% of capacity (21,363 of 50,144). All tickets will be digital.

Other precautions:

• Masks will be required at all times. Fans arriving at the ballpark without an approved face covering will be provided with a disposable face mask.
• Each digital ticket will include an assigned entry gate to limit traffic and prevent congestion.
• Backpacks and other multi-pocket bags, including multi-pocket purses, will not be permitted. Single-pocket, medical, and diaper bags no larger than 16”x16”x8” are permitted, subject to search.
• Standing room areas in the ballpark will be closed. Fans will be restricted to their seats unless accessing restrooms and concession areas.
• No cash will be accepted at concessions or retail outlets. Only credit cards will be accepted.

The Texas Rangers and Globe Life Field

Cardboard is out. Humans are in! That’s the message in Arlington, Texas this spring. Globe Life Field was originally scheduled to open on March 23, 2020, but COVID-19 delayed that opening by a year. Now, the Texas Rangers are welcoming fans back with open arms.

The Rangers will be playing to full stadiums this season and, as the Rangers’ Water Efficiency Partner, Sloan is helping fans stay safer at the game.

Globe Life Field specified Sloan products across the entire restroom, including touch-free faucets and flushometers. Sloan Bluetooth-connected faucets let stadium management adjust and configure settings from a smartphone and provide real-time updates on battery life, water usage, and troubleshooting. And SloanTec® Hydrophobic Glaze on urinals and water closets makes them easier to clean and keeps them cleaner longer.

Globe Life Field will have these COVID-19 measures in place. Here’s what you need to know:

Maximum attendance: Globe Life Field is open at full capacity. All tickets must be accessed digitally with the MLB Ballpark App.

Other precautions:

• Masks will be required at all times unless you’re eating or drinking in your seat.
• No tailgating will be allowed, and there will be no fan shuttles from the parking lot.
• No bags will be permitted except for those carried for medical reasons or manufactured diaper bags that accompany infants and young children.
• Safe distancing will be enforced in concession lines and retail locations.
• No cash will be accepted at concessions or retail outlets, but you can pay will credit cards or mobile wallets.

Live baseball will be different this year—but it will still be live baseball! If you’re a fan of the Rangers, Rockies, Cubs, or any of the other 27 Major League Baseball teams, that’s the best news since the Cubs installed lights.

Want to learn more about Sloan hygiene innovations for sports venues and other entertainment facilities? Contact Sloan!