The Orioles announced on Tuesday afternoon that they would play their Wednesday game against the White Sox — but it would be closed to the public.
The game will take place at 2:05 p.m. and will be played in an empty stadium. This is believe to be the first time in U.S. sports history that a professional baseball team has player a game without any fans in the stands.
Tuesday night’s Orioles game against the White Sox was previously postponed.
The Orioles will play a series this weekend at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., acting as the home team, they said.
At the Japan state dinner at the White House, Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert Manfred told The Hill, “We made a series of decisions based on safety concerns in Baltimore. I think the two clubs, both Baltimore and Chicago, were great, very cooperative in moving through a very difficult situation.”
The decision follows riots in Baltimore on Monday night stemming from dissatisfaction with the way that the police treats minority communities. Many are also angry about the death of Freddie Gray, a black 25-year-old who died after he sustained a spinal injury while in police custody.
When protests over Gray’s death turned briefly violent on Saturday, Orioles fans were kept in the stadium until authorities decided the threat had subsided.
– Updated at 8:50 p.m.