Only season-ticket holders will be permitted into games this season, should that be allowedGETTY IMAGES
MLB Rangers fans have "committed thousands of dollars" for season tickets in '20, money the Rangers "still haven’t refunded in the vast majority of cases despite the loss of 56 home dates," according to Jeff Wilson of the Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM. Season-ticket holders "want to know where their money is, if they can get it back, and why the Rangers have been slow to communicate." Ticket holders were "understanding early in the shutdown, but they want answers after four months of uncertainty." The "problem is the Rangers still feel like they don’t have enough answers to pass along." The club "could make it easy and not allow fans the rest of the season, as a few teams have done, but a team that just implemented furloughs to 12% of its full-time workforce clearly needs whatever ticket revenue it can get." Only season-ticket holders will be "permitted into games this season, and the Rangers are still planning to have fans at games this season even though MLB has inserted itself into that decision." The Rangers "started issuing refunds to fans holding individual tickets for games that were canceled as each month passed, and will issue refunds to fans who have individual tickets the rest of the season." The club "would prefer that fans roll their 2020 ticket outlay into next season, and they are attempting to incentivize fans to do so by offering credits to their accounts that could be used on concessions and elsewhere during games" (Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM, 7/15).
TOUGH TIMES: In Dallas, Evan Grant notes the employees that were furloughed by the Rangers yesterday "will receive two weeks of severance pay" and medical benefits through October. The Rangers "had been among the first organizations in the majors to institute pay cuts when COVID-19 shut down baseball, but ownership had steadfastly maintained it had no plans for furloughs." The furloughed employees ranged across "baseball operations and business, including operations outside of the Arlington offices" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 7/15). THE ATHLETIC's Levi Weaver writes without full disclosure of the Rangers' finances, it is "impossible to know how bad things have gotten for the team’s bank accounts in the short term, but it doesn’t speak well of the game’s financiers if they are unable to withstand one lean year after a decade of exponential growth on a gargantuan scale." For about 60 employees of the Rangers, that "means looking for employment or other income in a job market that is flooded with candidates" (THEATHLETIC.com, 7/15).
