Despite several summer-collegiate leagues canceling their 2020 seasons, the Northwoods League still plans a return to play this year–but it won’t be on May 26, the previously announced start of the season.
We’ve seen several leagues, such as the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League and the Cape Cod League, announce a season shutdown. Previously the Northwoods League had announced the season opener would be delayed, and since then things have not changed: three league states (Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan) are still operating under stay-at-home orders, while Canada is operating under a Quarantine Act that mandates anyone traveling to the country must undergo screening at the border and then undergo 14 days of isolation if they do not show symptoms, while those showing symptoms are ordered into a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Here’s the statement from the league:
The Northwoods League continues to closely monitor the developments related to COVID-19 and the different ways in which each sub-region in the Northwoods League is responding. Fan, player, and personnel safety remains our primary focus. Because the situation changes almost daily, and differently in each area where the League operates, our approach is to remain creative, nimble, and adaptable to how each situation unfolds throughout the entire League footprint so that where and when baseball can safely be played, it will be played.
However, as of today, because of the regime of governmental restrictions currently in effect and their resulting impact on the League’s ability to maintain a workable schedule, the May 26th opening date for Northwoods League teams has been postponed indefinitely league-wide. The League will continue to monitor the specific situation in each of the communities where it operates to see where play might safely commence, consider the league-wide impacts of each location’s status, and will adjust various contingency plans accordingly. Following this process, the League will continue to make frequent assessments, taking into consideration any local and state-wide updates, and will immediately communicate any further changes to the status of the League schedule.
In the meantime, we want to sincerely thank our fans, players, and all of the personnel who make the Northwoods League such an important part of the communities where we play. We look forward to safely coming together as soon as possible.
The Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York Collegiate Baseball League, New England Collegiate Baseball League, Cape Cod League and the Valley Baseball League have all canceled the 2020 season. The Expedition League, Western Canadian Baseball League, Prospect League, Coastal Plain League, Northwoods League, Futures Collegiate Baseball League and the Texas Collegiate League have announced delays to the 2020 summer-collegiate season.
Individual teams are also facing issues: the Duluth Huskies (Northwoods League) and the Lafayette Aviators (Prospect League) can’t play home games before July 1, while the Bellingham Bells will not participate in the 2020 West Coast League season. All in all, summer-collegiate leagues across the board are grappling with the potential of shortened seasons, extended seasons into the fall and teams facing serious revenue shortfalls.
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