Royals to set aside $1 million for stadium workers along with every other MLB team
The Kansas City Royals joined the rest of MLB’s 30 teams in pledging $1 million each for stadium workers in the aftermath of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic that’s forced MLB to largely shut down operations and delay the start of the regular season.
Major League Baseball teams have allocated $30 million towards helping offset lost wages for ballpark employees, MLB announced on Tuesday.
Ballpark workers and game day employees at venues like Kauffman Stadium will have their paychecks affected by a shortened MLB season that will include the loss of home dates.
“Over the past 48 hours, I have been approached by representatives of all 30 clubs to help assist the thousands of ballpark employees affected by the delay in the start of the Major League Baseball season,” MLB’s commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “Motivated by a desire to help some of the most valuable members of the baseball community, each Club has committed $1 million. The individual clubs will be announcing more details surrounding this support effort in their local communities.”
Details regarding how and when the funds for stadium workers will be used are expected to be released on a team-by-team basis.
“The timing of these announcements will vary because of the need to coordinate with state and local laws as well as collective bargaining obligations in an effort to maximize the benefits realized by each group of employees,” Manfred said. “I am proud that our clubs came together so quickly and uniformly to support these individuals who provide so much to the game we love.”
Tuesday night, the Royals sent out a release announcing their plans to aid stadium workers.
“These are unprecedented, extraordinary times, and we are squarely focused on the well-being of our Royals family,” Royals chairman and CEO John Sherman said in the release. “We want to insure that our seasonal staff who bring their positive energy to Kauffman Stadium will feel the support of our organization at their backs. We have chosen to start this fund to help alleviate/offset as much of the burden as we can until we can all return to normalcy and start the 2020 baseball season. We look forward to that day with great anticipation.”
The statement also said the organization is working on details of a grant program and will have more information once all details are finalized and ready for implementation.
Last Thursday, MLB initially announced it had suspended spring training games and pushed back the start of the season, slated for March 26, at least two weeks.
On Friday, MLB suspended all spring camps and, in consultation with the MLBPA, gave players the options to return home, remain in their spring training cities, or return to their major league club’s home city.
Following the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s release of its recommendation to restrict events of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks, Manfred issued a statement on Monday stating, “The opening of the 2020 regular season will be pushed back in accordance with that guidance.”
MLB teams wouldn’t host any regular season games prior to mid-May at the earliest.
The Royals announced Monday the club has closed its box office and team store, and instructed Kansas City-based associates to work from home for the next two weeks.
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 4:17 PM.
