Warner pitches baseball bailout with unused coronavirus relief funds

Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) paid a visit to the home of the Fredericksburg Nationals minor league baseball team to announce a bill that would offer financial assistance to minor league baseball teams in Virginia that came under hardship during the coronavirus pandemic.

The bill, known as the Minor League Baseball Relief Act, would provide grants from a pot of $550 million of unused money originally set aside for pandemic relief. The act would follow in the footsteps of the Shuttered Venues grant program which offered funding to businesses such as restaurants and music venues which had closed their doors due to crowd restrictions to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

The pandemic affected sporting venues such as FredNats ballpark, which led to the cancelation of the 2020 season, which been the FredNat’s first season since moving to Fredericksburg. The team took the field for the first time in May, but according to Fred Nats Owner Art Silber, the canceled season resulted in lost revenue that would have been generated by the team’s presence.

Silber discussed the positives of how the bill would affect the Fred Nats:

“We’ve gone through a difficult financial period without having revenues for a full season like other businesses that have benefited from similar legislation. It would provide some additional revenue that would allow us to invest more in the ballpark, do some hiring, and some other things that would help us to fully realize our business.”

Warner also touted the importance of Minor League Baseball not just as a drive of economic growth but as a source of entertainment for local baseball fans.

“For many working families, catching a weekend Minor League Baseball game at stadiums across the Commonwealth is an affordable and fun family outing.”

Working alongside Warner on the bill is fellow Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine as well as Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Sen. Richard Blumethal (D-Conn.).

In addition to the FredNats, eight other Virginia-based teams from the Minor League and the Appalachian League would be eligible for relief which could amount up to $10 million for the team. The Minor League teams include the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Norfolk Tides, the Lynchburg Hillcats, and the Salem Red Sox.

The eligible Appalachian League teams include the Danville Otterbots, the Pulaski River Turtles, the Bluefield Ridge Runners, and the Bristol State Liners.

The FredNats, formerly the Potomac Nationals, moved from Woodbridge to their new home in Fredericksburg in 2018. The $35 million stadia, located next to the Fredericksburg Expo Center on Carl D. Silver Parkway, was constructed under a public-private partnership between the team and the city.