MLB teams now considering putting ads over empty seats
With the chance of a 2020 MLB season without fans in attendance becoming more likely, Major League Baseball teams are now exploring the idea of putting tarps with advertisements over top of seats in empty stadiums, industry sources told Danni Santana of FOS.
The Cincinnati Reds are currently the only franchise specifically mentioned in the report and are said to be working with the marketing research firm Nielsen on pricing. The Reds declined to comment, Santana added.
"It's even more critical that we evaluate new opportunities to help our clients adjust to this new normal," a Nielsen spokesperson told Santana. "While we haven't formally launched a new service, we are exploring several new concepts designed to help our clients extract replacement value once games restart without fans in stadiums and ballparks."
The report follows a statement from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred that team owners could stand to cumulatively lose $4 billion if a season is played without fans in attendance and with players earning their prorated salaries. The league reportedly made a presentation to the union as well, indicating that each team is likely to lose approximately $640,000 for each game played.
Multiple MLB clubs have used advertising on tarped seating before, though not recently. Despite the Oakland Athletics regularly tarping the seats of Mount Davis at Oakland Coliseum, the club has not used any third-party advertising, instead opting to use A's logos and the numbers of retired jerseys.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 14, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Nick Suzuki | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Juraj Slafkovsky | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Pavel Dorofeyev | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Ivan Demidov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Mitch Marner | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shea Theodore | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Phillip Danault | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Lane Hutson | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Josh Anderson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Cole Caufield | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Josh Doan | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jake Evans | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Mikael Granlund | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Konsta Helenius | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alexandre Texier | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jason Zucker | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Leo Carlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
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