Sen. Mark Warner holds a Flying Squirrels hat after discussing the Minor League Baseball Relief Act this afternoon at the Diamond. (Photo by Meredith Moran)
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., spoke at the Diamond, home of the Richmond Flying Squirrels, today and discussed the Minor League Baseball Relief Act, which, if passed, would reallocate leftover federal COVID-19 relief funds to Minor League baseball teams who were hit hard financially by the pandemic.
With closed stadiums and overstocked merchandise, the average revenue of a Minor League team declined 91.12% from 2019 to 2020. The relief act would allow for $550 million to be distributed to eligible minor league teams, including the Flying Squirrels and eight other teams in Virginia.
“Minor League Baseball basically got zip for 2020 with not having seasons, and because you don’t have that direct support from the major leagues, how do you get by?” Warner said. “Even into 2021, teams are having to leave games off their season and, as recently as last month, there were still crowd restrictions.”
The bipartisan bill, introduced to the Senate by Warner, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine and two other senators, would give teams grants equal to 45% of their 2019 gross revenues. Aside from the impact of COVID-19, the minor league has also had to deal with big changes from Major League Baseball in February, which meant the end of short-season minor league play and a reduced number of affiliates.
“With the Flying Squirrels, it might not be an issue of life and death, but to some teams across the country, it absolutely is,” Todd Parnell, CEO of the Flying Squirrels, says.
Warner doesn’t think that the bill will pass on its own, so he’s hoping it gets attached with something larger, like the infrastructure bill, he said. The aim is to get it passed before the World Series this year, he says.
“Whether you’re a Flying Squirrels fan or not, keeping minor league ball alive in Richmond is important,” Warner said. “You can see what it does for the economy and what it does to get people together.”