Warner visits FredNats stadium to pitch relief plan

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner visited the new FredNats stadium on Thursday morning to see the facility firsthand and promote a federal relief plan that could help the home team.

Warner toured the site with Fredericksburg Nationals officials and heard about financial hardships the team has faced due to the pandemic. Warner recently introduced the Minor League Baseball Relief Act, which would help Minor League Baseball teams rebuild financially after losing the 2020 season to COVID-19.

Click here for a press release Warner’s team put out about the proposed relief act, which would:

• Repurpose up to $550 million in COVID-19 relief funding for an emergency grant program to be administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that would otherwise be returned to the U.S. Treasury.
• Provide eligible clubs grants up to a maximum of $10 million. Allowable expenses include payroll costs, regular business expenses (e.g., rent, utilities), worker protection expenditures, and payments made to independent contractors.
• Provide an opportunity for a second grant at 50 percent of the first if a club’s revenue does not recover and does not significantly exceed its 2019 total.
• Require strict oversight from SBA through documentation, review of use, and an audit on grant funding.

The program would apply to any Minor League Baseball team previously part of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues but not to any club that is majority-owned by Major League Baseball. A copy of the bill is here.