Before-and-after photos show how sports stadiums and arenas have changed during the pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic resulted in baseball season being postponed until July.

Instead of allowing fans into the stadium, the Mets have installed cardboard cutouts in fans' likeness. Not only are fake fans filling the stands, but the stadium is also now featuring artificial crowd noise to create a sense of normalcy while the players take the mound and throughout the game, operated by a touchscreen device provided by MLB.

"It was definitely weird having a crowd noise or an audio in the background," Mets player J.D. Davis told NorthJersey.com. "As the game went along after a couple innings, it just felt normal. It felt just fine. Crowd noises when balls were in play sounded just normal, so I don't think it's that big of a deal."

Arthur Ashe Stadium, the center's largest stadium, is also the largest-capacity tennis stadium in the world, with a total capacity of 23,200 people.

According to the USTA, the tennis center began accepting its first patients in early April. The makeshift medical center offered 475 beds to patients, including 20 for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients. The temporary hospital closed on May 14, according to the US Open.

The Western & Southern Open is going ahead this month, with no fans in attendance.

Tennis champion Andy Murray said, "I would way prefer playing with the crowd. I hit a running passing shot winner up the line … and you get silence! You feed off the crowd. That maybe explains the drop in intensity in a long match like that."

However, this past season, the historic stadium was left empty amid the coronavirus pandemic.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that the Yankees will resume spring training in New York next year before baseball season presumably resumes again.

"I can't wait to see spring training in New York," Cuomo said in a press conference. "It's great news."

The home of soccer team the New York Red Bulls, the arena postponed all games on March 19 following an announcement from Major League Soccer.

"We are in full support of Major League Soccer's decision to further suspend the season. We continue to work closely with MLS, United Soccer League, state and local officials, and health authorities to ensure we remain on the best course of action for fans, players, staff, and our general community," the Red Bulls said in a statement. "We are following the recommendations to stay home and limit social interactions and urge our community to join us in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19."

However, while Red Bull Arena remains empty for now, MLS has said they will be welcoming back fans to some soccer games.

"We will get back to our markets," Commissioner Don Garber said on Fox News, according to the Washington Post. "We'll be announcing our schedule soon. We are going to be able to play with fans where we can and not play with fans in most of our markets."

So far, FC Dallas, Sporting Kansas City, Orlando City SC, and Real Salt Lake have announced they will be allowing fans back to their arenas with a limited capacity.

The stadium shut down in mid-March as the coronavirus halted the sport entirely. Great American Ball Park, which usually hosts thousands of screaming fans, was promptly left empty.

The stadium reopened for voluntary workouts in mid-May and only allowed local players to use the facilities. Since them, games have resumed, although the crowd looks noticeably different.

The stadium is offering fans the opportunity to have their photo appear on cardboard cutouts for $75, allowing Reds fans to "attend" the 2020 season in a new, socially distanced way.

Other options are also being considered to allow fans back into the stadium. According to WCPO Cincinnati, the Reds have plans to submit a proposal to allow Great American Ball Park to be filled at 20% normal capacity.

The total capacity of Citizens Bank Park is 43,035 people.

However, approximately a week after the ballpark reopened, it closed again after three employees tested positive for the coronavirus. On August 1, after no new positive results were found, the stadium reopened to players for staggered workouts in small groups.

The hockey arena has a capacity of 18,300 people.

"Obviously there are lots of things that have to be done, but this marks a very important step along the journey we're onto taking," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a remote press conference, according to Cronkite News Arizona.

However, while the arena has reopened to players, fans have yet to be allowed back in, and many musical performances at the venue remain canceled or postponed.

However, after the start of baseball season crashed to a standstill at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, fans were forced to wrap their heads around not being able to visit the stadium to watch their favorite players.

Despite games resuming, fans have not yet been allowed to watch games inside the stadium, leaving the Red Sox to play to an empty stadium. However, team president Sam Kennedy has released a statement that soon, a limited number of fans may be able to return.

"The first step is to get the games underway, make sure we can pull off everything that's expected of us from Major League Baseball with respect to our health and safety protocols. So the first step is returning to play," Kennedy said in late July. "But the name of the game for us is preparation. And we need to be prepared for that next step, which we hope is bringing fans back on a limited basis at some point in the future."

During regular seasons, USC and Los Angeles Rams fans can be heard echoing around the arena. However, now, the stadium is much quieter.

While the Governor of California Gavin Newsom has previously stated he doesn't see a full reopening of sports stadiums until a vaccine for the coronavirus is found, there is a possibility the stadium could open for the fall season with a limited capacity.

Five USC home games are currently set to happen this fall at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but it's still largely up in the air whether fans will be able to attend the games in accordance with California mandates.

• Read more:
• Forget fans: Taiwan's baseball league played in a stadium filled with robot mannequins and cardboard cutouts
• 12 things you may not see in sports after the coronavirus pandemic
• Cincinnati, Stanford, and 17 other Division I schools are permanently eliminating dozens of sports programs in an unexpected loss from the pandemic