CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A bill in the U.S. Senate would provide funds to independent professional baseball and minor league baseball teams like the New Hampshire Fisher Cats that have struggled economically during the coronavirus pandemic.
The bill would provide $550 million in federal relief funding for an emergency grant program to be administered by the Small Business Administration. Grants would be provided up to a maximum of $10 million. The money would cover payroll costs, rent, utilities, worker protection, and independent contractors.
A club would have a chance to get a second grant at 50% of the first one if its revenue doesn’t recover and doesn’t significantly exceed its 2019 total.
“Baseball is America’s pastime, and few sights signal recovery more than baseball stadiums filling up again as we continue to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic,” U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, a bill co-sponsor, said in a statement Sunday. “When families and friends come together to share in their love of baseball, small business owners also win — serving customers and stimulating the local economy.”
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THE NUMBERS
More than 100,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in New Hampshire, including 59 cases announced Friday. The number of deaths stood at 1,385.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in New Hampshire has risen over the past two weeks from 22 new cases per day on July 10 to 35 new cases per day on Saturday.
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