FC Dallas soccer game will be the first major league team sports event played in front of a crowd since pandemic

Despite the state recently experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases, Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, will play host Wednesday to the first Major League Soccer game of the season with fans in attendance.

FC Dallas will be facing off against Nashville SC at 7:30 p.m. in the opener of two back-to-back matchups.

Both teams were forced to withdraw from the recent MLS is Back tournament due to Covid-19 outbreaks among staff and players.

MLS is the first major team sports league to host a game in front of fans since the coronavirus pandemic forced leagues to suspend or delay their respective seasons in March.

The NBA, NHL and MLB have resumed or begun their seasons, but there have been no fans in attendance.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order on June 3 that permitted sports venues to expand capacity at open-air stadiums from 25% to 50%. Dallas FC said that it will allow 5,110 fans to attend, which is slightly less than 25% of the 20,500 capacity of the stadium.

Fans are required to sign a waiver in order to go to the game, and everyone is required to wear face masks at all times while on stadium property, including while in the parking lot, the team said.

Cash is not accepted at concession stands in order to minimize physical interaction, the team said. No paper tickets are being distributed, as all tickets will be delivered and processed through the AXS ticketing app.

Texas currently has recorded at least 518,150 confirmed coronavirus cases — third most among US states — and more than 9,225 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.