The 2020 Major League Baseball season was certainly an unusual one with the schedule being shortened to 60 games and no fans being allowed in stadiums due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Every step of the way, MLB’s owners have made it clear to the public they were poised to lose money by playing the 2020 season, which made negotiations with the MLB Players Association so difficult.
Now that the season has come and gone and teams can actually see the financial ramifications, MLB is reportedly suing some insurance companies to make up for those lost revenue they feel the companies are responsible for, per Jake Seiner of the Associated Press:
Major League Baseball and all 30 of its teams are suing their insurance providers, citing billions of dollars in losses during the 2020 season played almost entirely without fans due to the coronavirus pandemic. The suit, filed in October in California Superior Court in Alameda County, was obtained Friday by The Associated Press. It says providers AIG, Factory Mutual and Interstate Fire and Casualty Company have refused to pay claims made by MLB despite the league’s “all-risk” policy purchases.
In the lawsuit, teams are claiming that the inability to sell tickets, concessions, merchandise and more, caused them to lose a significant amount of revenue:
“Due to COVID-19, the Major League Baseball entities, including those of the 30 major league clubs, have incurred significant financial losses as a result of our inability to play games, host fans and otherwise conduct normal business operations during much of the 2020 season,” the league said in a statement to the AP. “We strongly believe these losses are covered in full by our insurance policies, and are confident that the court and jury will agree.”
The result of this lawsuit likely has implications on what MLB owners would be willing to do for 2021. If they are unsuccessful, it may prompt them to push for fewer games again this upcoming season.
With the pandemic not going away, it is seeming less likely by the day that MLB will be able to have fans in stadiums next year. Los Angeles Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten is hoping they will be able to, but only time will tell if that is safe and feasible.
Kasten claims Dodgers lost more than $100 million in 2020
Even with the Dodgers winning their first World Series since 1988, they were not exempt from a significant drop in revenue, as Kasten recently claimed the organization lost more than $100 million this past season.
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