Triple-A Oklahoma City could miss out on minor league relief bill

A bill that would send $550 million of unspent COVID-19 relief funds to minor league teams is currently being discussed in Washington. But there is a catch.

Only teams that don’t have major league owners would have a claim to the money, writes Storme Jones of News 9 Oklahoma.

Since the Triple-A Oklahoma City club is 50% owned by the major league Dodgers, that could mean the relief money would not be made available to OKC.

Without a season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Minor League Baseball owners have said publicly that they will feel the financial impact of the canceled season for years to come.

It has been reported that teams lost 92% of their revenue in 2020 when compared to the 2019 season, and 2021 is estimated to only bring in 35% of the revenue of a normal season.

Jones spoke to OKC Dodgers President and General Manager Michael Byrnes about the current state of operations. Byrnes stated that it could take years to be back at previous staffing levels due to revenue.

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