The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is impacting the sports world at the minor league level, as many teams depend on collecting the funds to avoid layoffs and furloughs. On the most recent episode of “SBJ Unpacks -- Weathering COVID-19,” our Bill King, Eric Prisbell and John Lombardo discuss the process of applying for a PPP loan and the importance additional funding has for teams struggling to stay afloat.
On the process Minor League Baseball teams are going through to get the PPP loan and the importance of that money:
Prisbell: All 160 minor league baseball teams were expected to apply for the PPP loan. … I have not encountered any that’s received approval, much less the funds at this point. It doesn’t mean they haven’t. It just means that out of 160, I haven’t tracked down any that have at this point. A lot of what people are telling me is, a lot comes down to the relationship you have with your community bank, the bank that you’re using to fill out the paperwork and apply for this. … Minor League Baseball is so different than anything else. Most of these teams operate on just razor-thin margins. They’re barely making it as it is. … If there’s no fans coming to venues this summer, they’re not going to play.
On how additional stress from the Professional Baseball Agreement negotiations with MLB have placed an extra burden on MiLB clubs:
Prisbell: To bring it back to one Single-A co-owner that I talked to, he has 33 employees. They have not furloughed anybody at this point. They have not laid off anybody, and he’s really hoping he can maintain that staff in the long-shot hopes that there will be a season this year. He said they were trying to make updates to their stadium to satisfy Major League Baseball … because the complex layer to all of this for Minor League Baseball is the ongoing negotiations between MLB and Minor League Baseball over a new Professional Baseball Agreement. … Select teams are trying to make stadium upgrades amidst this pandemic.
On whether NBA G-League teams are also eligible for PPP loans:
Lombardo: If they’re separately owned -- and most of the teams now have bought their G-League franchise -- that falls under the purview of their franchises. That doesn’t help them all much. If you just have an operating agreement with an NBA team and there’s private ownership in that market, they can apply for that.
