As COVID-19 pandemic wears on, Rainiers, Tacoma’s soccer teams playing waiting game
Tacoma Rainiers president Aaron Artman walked over to the glass door of his suite box last Thursday, opened it, and peered down at the field below.
The sun was out, glossing over the neatly kept grass in the outfield, and it was warm — tauntingly perfect conditions for a minor league baseball game.
And, there was supposed to be a baseball game at Cheney Stadium that night. Fans would have gathered to watch the Rainiers play the Reno Aces, many of them undoubtedly from the deck in left field, enjoying the usual Thursday night beer specials.
There would have been Mariners prospects in the Triple-A lineup that night, exciting fans for what is expected to be a brighter future in Seattle. Ballpark visitors would have enjoyed the zany games, contests, dance numbers and other entertainment between innings. And, surely, Rhubarb the Reindeer would have done something mischievous.
But, none of that happened.
When Artman looked out over the field just after 3 p.m. — when the Rainiers would normally be going through pregame workouts — he wasn’t met with the usual chatter, or the sound of cracking bats, or baseballs hitting mitts.
Cheney Stadium was silent and empty, as it has been since late March, when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down leagues around the globe.
Like so many other businesses in Washington and across the country, the stadium and its three occupants — the Rainiers, and the two professional soccer teams, the Tacoma Defiance and OL Reign — are playing the waiting game.
There is the possibility that the stadium remains empty all summer for the first time since it was built to house the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A affiliate in 1960.
“It’s tough, and I know there are a lot of people struggling, so we’re not alone,” Artman said. “But, it is very strange to have this beautiful stadium here totally empty.”
The Defiance played two matches at the stadium in March — the second without fans — before the USL Championship season was suspended. With spring training still playing out in Arizona then, the Rainiers didn’t even have a set roster when MLB and all of its affiliates put the upcoming season on hold. The Reign, a National Women’s Soccer League member, had their home opener scheduled for early May, but that match wasn’t played either.
“It’s surreal,” Artman said. “I think we all think initially, ‘OK, this is short, we’re going to figure this out, whatever it is.’ And here we are 60 days later with not a real conclusive end in sight.”
The Rainiers and Defiance, which Artman operates, are also in the uncertain position of waiting for their parent leagues to hand down instructions.
MLB presented its extensive plan to the Players Association last week to possibly begin the regular season in July, but even if that plan is carried out, the probability of a minor league season seems less likely as each day passes.
In a normal season, Tacoma would already be three months into its schedule by early July. The Triple-A season usually ends in early September.
MLS similarly won’t resume until at least June, though players, including those who play for the Sounders, can begin voluntary individual workouts this week.
Under Gov. Jay Inslee’s phased reopening plan, the usual Cheney Stadium experience — baseball and soccer games with as many as 6,500 fans — won’t be allowed until Phase 4, which could begin sometime in July at the earliest.
All of this uncertainty keeps minor league teams in a holding pattern.
“It’s bizarre from the perspective of we don’t have the answers, our league doesn’t have the answers — really no league has the answers,” Artman said. “There are leagues that are trying to play, like Major League Baseball is trying to figure that out, but we’re dependent on them on whether we get players and whether we play. There’s that dependency, and there’s the dependency overall at the state and national level on what will be allowed or not allowed.
“Unlike teams at the higher levels, it doesn’t make much sense for us to play games without fans. It would just add expense. I’m not saying we wouldn’t do it a few times — it would be cool to see some things going on here — but it is all just kind of out of our hands.”
Artman remains hopeful baseball games and soccer matches could resume in Tacoma at some point this summer, but losing gate revenue this spring has caused a “financial hit,” he said.
“It gets more significant as we go,” he said. “If you can imagine a losing a whole season scenario, that’s pretty much our core business, and outside of some merchandise sales and some events stuff, most of our revenue comes from playing games in all of the sports — but particularly baseball.
“The longer it goes on, the more dramatic the hit will be. But, we’ll all get through this, one way or another.”
The Rainiers received a federal Paycheck Protection Program loan to aid with losses due to the pandemic, and have been able to keep their entire staff to this point, Artman said.
If the stadium does remain empty through the end of the year, though Artman hopes that is not the case, minor league baseball and soccer will still be in Tacoma when the 2021 seasons begin.
“It’s a significant financial hit to all teams, and we’re no different,” Artman said. “That said, if that were to occur, as long as long as we can get some certainty around 2021 … then that will be a great scenario.
“If we were to play a little bit this year, that would be better, but just knowing 2021 is viable — for probably any sports team, any music venue, movie theater, you name it — would give us optimism and hope right now.”
Under the We R Tacoma brand, the Rainiers and Defiance have focused a lot on content creation, offering coloring books for kids, workout plans, and staff picks for books, TV shows and movies to indulge in. They have also held one passionately debated online South Sound bars battle, which The Red Hot ultimately won.
Cheney Stadium has also partnered with Bloodworks Northwest to host a pop-up blood drive that continues through the end of May, and offered up its parking lot for a drive-in service for all faiths last week.
There’s a continued effort to connect with the community that has supported its minor league baseball team for decades, and more recently its two soccer teams, but it still feels like something is missing in Tacoma with Cheney Stadium’s gates closed, Artman says.
“Our whole goal for (the Rainiers) franchise, when it became more successful and had better attendance, was to be a huge part of Tacoma, and be something that Tacomans were proud of,” Artman said.
“Now, they can still do that when they wear their ‘R’ hats, I guess, but they’re not here, and we’re not together. … There should be 100 events going on between soccer teams and baseball, and here we are with none.
“It’s tough for the community, it’s tough for us, and not just from a selfish way, but from what we like to provide in the community — and we just can’t.”
But, Artman looks forward to when Cheney Stadium will be able to provide the excitement live baseball and soccer offer again, whenever that may be.
“It’s going to be a very celebratory time, I think, when we get past this both locally and as a country, and it should be,” he said.
This story was originally published May 19, 2020 at 9:39 AM.
