Boston mayor: There will be no fans at Fenway Park in July, August

If baseball returns to Fenway Park this summer, it will be without fans.

Boston mayor Marty Walsh said Friday he's in favor of reopening the historic ballpark to host Red Sox games if Major League Baseball returns this season, but he won't put people in jeopardy by allowing them to attend live contests.

"There will be no fans in Fenway Park in July, there will be no fans in Fenway Park in August," Walsh told Michael Silverman of the Boston Globe. "We won't even be near a situation where there's herd immunity, and there certainly won't be a vaccine."

Walsh also mentioned a willingness to reopen TD Garden - the home of the Celtics and Bruins - without fans as long as it was safe to do so.

"Yes, as long as the players and the teams and the support staff and all the people that are associated with it are safe and feel comfortable," Walsh said.

"Obviously, their health is important to me as well," he continued. "Many of them are constituents of mine, and even if they're not constituents of mine, I obviously want people to be healthy and safe. That's going to be the biggest challenge that they're going to have to figure out and meet if they're going to move forward here."

MLB recently had a return-to-play proposal approved by team owners, according to a report. The proposal, which still needs the endorsement of the players' union, apparently mentioned a season potentially beginning in July without fans.

Even with his willingness to reopen the aforementioned stadiums, Walsh did mention he'd have to ensure the leagues' COVID-19 protocols meet the city's standards before approving games in Boston.

"We want to see the plan," Walsh explained. "We'll have our public health experts take a look at it and make sure that they feel like everything is covered that needs to be covered moving forward here. We will treat it like every other industry in the city, same with entertainment."