WooSox Offering Free Tickets To Fans Who Get COVID Vaccine During First Full Capacity Polar Park Homestand
WORCESTER (CBS) – The Worcester Red Sox are hosting the first homestand in team history where Polar Park can reach full capacity. To celebrate, the team is offering an incentive for fans who receive their COVID vaccine this week.
The team will make 50 Johnson & Johnson vaccines available per game Tuesday through Sunday as part of a partnership with Worcester's Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center.
Any fan who is vaccinated at the park will be given a free general admission ticket to that day's game and a WooSox hat. If a fan receives their vaccine but already has a ticket to the game, they will receive one for a future home game.
The crowd at Tuesday night's game was made possible by low COVID case counts and the millions of vaccines administered in Massachusetts. So far, more than 4.4 million people have at least one dose -- and more than 3.6 million are fully vaccinated in the state.
"It was excellent, it was easy. I'm not scared of needles," said Montel Walcott, the first person to get his shot inside the concourse at Polar Park Tuesday night.
"I'm glad to get it out-of-the-way you know? It's just one less thing to think about. I don't want to think about it, I just want to know that I got it and I can prove to everybody that I got it and go about my business."
"I think that's a great opportunity," said WooSox fan Jen Daly. "Why not catch a game and get vaccinated and be safe?"
In May, the team administered 214 vaccines during a clinic at Polar Park.
"We are proud to be among the first Triple-A teams in the country to offer vaccines for fans during our ballgames," said WooSox president Dr. Charles A. Steinberg. "We look forward to continuing to do our part to inspire more people to become vaccinated in the City of Worcester and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."
The WooSox will also explore the possibility of running similar vaccine events at more games this summer.
"We are excited by the fact that people have been vaccinated, people are getting vaccinated, they are getting out there getting shots in the arms and they are now able to go and enjoy ballparks like this," said WooSox General Manager Dan Rea.
Fans must be 18 or older to receive a vaccine at Polar Park.