Minor League Baseball cancels season, so no Indians games at Victory Field in 2020
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH/AP) — Minor League Baseball on Tuesday said its cancelling the 2020 season, so Victory Field won’t be having Indianapolis Indians games due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In 2019, the baseball park that opened in 1996 attracted 586,860 fans, according to Ballpark Digest.
In addition to the Indians, other minor league teams in South Bend and Fort Wayne made similar announcements Tuesday.
Cheyne Reiter, director of communications for the Indians, said, “We are indeed looking at hosting alternate events at Victory Field, and expect to announce those in the coming days.”
The Indians said in an online post:
“With disappointment and sadness, today we learned that Major League Baseball has advised it will not provide players to the teams of Minor League Baseball in 2020 due to the many COVID-19 related challenges that would accompany staffing team rosters for a two-month season, resulting in the cancellation of this season. The 2020 campaign was set to be the Tribe’s 119th consecutive season of operation. And like every season before, we were looking forward to spending many days and nights at Victory Field with you celebrating Indians wins, enjoying postgame fireworks and soaking up the summer sunshine.
“Our heartfelt condolences go out to those who have been affected by COVID-19 during this unimaginable time. To the frontline healthcare and essential workers helping our community push forward every day to keep us safe, we can’t thank you enough. The way our community has responded to these challenging times has been an inspiration.
“Please continue to stay safe and healthy. We thank you for your continued support and greatly anticipate the return of baseball at Victory Field in 2021.”
Statement from Indianapolis Indians
The online post has further information, such as answers to ticket questions, for fans.
Major League Baseball teams have been calling up players from the minors to play on “taxi squads,” which practice with MLB players at their home parks. The Pirates on Sunday called up eight Indianapolis Indians plays to join Pittsburgh’s taxi squad. A week ago, MLB issued a 60-game schedule that will start July 23 or 24 in empty ballparks as the sport tries to push ahead amid the coronavirus pandemic following months of acrimony over the number of games and players’ salaries.
The Indians said in each MLB team will carry 60 players — 30 on their active roster for the first two weeks of the season, then 28, and then down to 26. When MLB teams are on the road, they can carry up to three taxi-squad players, selecting from the 30-34 players who aren’t on the active roster at the time.
The taxi squads for every MLB team will practice at minor league stadiums across the country, but the Pirates have chosen their affiliate in Altoona to host their practices.
The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the minor
league governing body, made the long-expected announcement.
“We
are a fans-in-the-stands business. We don’t have national TV revenues,”
National Association president Pat O’Conner said during a digital news
conference. “There was a conversation at one point: Well, can we play
without fans? And that was one of the shortest conversations in the last
six months. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
O’Conner estimated
85-90% of revenue was related to ticket money, concessions, parking and
ballpark advertising. The minors drew 41.5 million fans last year for
176 teams in 15 leagues, averaging 4,044 fans per game.
MLB teams are planning for a 60-game regular season and most of their revenue will derive from broadcast money.
“I
had a conversation with the commissioner, and we weren’t unable to find
a path that allowed us to play games,” O’Conner said. “It wasn’t an
acrimonious decision on our part.”
O’Conner said many minor league teams had received money through the federal Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act.
“That
was a Band-Aid on a hemorrhaging industry,” he said. “Many of our clubs
have gone through one, two, maybe three rounds of furloughs. In our
office here, we’ve had varying levels of pay cuts between senior
management, staff, and we’ve furloughed some individuals, as well, and
are just about to enter in a second round of furloughs.”
He hopes for passage of H.R. 7023,
which would provide $1 billion in 15-year federal loans from the
Federal Reserve to businesses that had 2019 revenue of $35 million or
less and “have contractual obligations for making lease, rent, or bond
payments for publicly owned sports facilities, museums, and community
theaters.”
In addition, the Professional Baseball Agreement between the majors and minors expires Sept.. 30, and MLB has proposed reducing the minimum affiliates from 160 to 120.
“There’s
no question that what the pandemic has done is made us somewhat weaker
economically,” O’Conner said. “I don’t think it’s challenged our
resolve. I don’t think it’s impacted our desire to stick together and
get a good deal.”
There have not been substantive talks for about six weeks.
“There are very many teams that are not liquid, not solvent, not able to proceed under normal circumstances, and these are anything but normal circumstances given the PBA and the uncertainty of the future for some of these ballclubs,” O’Conner said. “So I think the coronavirus has really cut into many clubs’ ability to make it. And I think that we’re looking at without some government intervention, without doing something to take on equity partners, you might be looking at half of the 160 who are going to have serious problems.”
Conner said the financial impact of the pathogen might extend until 2023.
“As
serious as the threat from Major League Baseball was,” O’Conner said,
“this threat from the coronavirus, it transcends any list that anybody
wants to make with respect to the possibility of teams not being around
in the future.”