Spring training redux is scheduled to begin Wednesday at Nationals Park, but the Washington Nationals have not yet been cleared by District officials to move forward with workouts.
The Nationals did submit a plan for COVID-19 mitigation shortly after MLB and MLBPA ended negotiations and Commissioner Rob Manfred presenting the plan for the 2020 MLB season. But that plan has not been approved, and the team is waiting for a waiver similar to the ones the District granted Monumental Sports (NBA/NHL) and D.C. United, per the Washington Post:
“The Nationals can’t just go into their stadium and start training,” said a spokesperson for the office of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat. “They have to get a waiver. They’ve submitted a request for a waiver, but it hasn’t been approved yet.”…
The franchise is required to apply for a waiver based on Bowser’s order that temporarily closed on-site operation of nonessential businesses in the nation’s capital to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
Approval for resumption of operations at Nationals Park, meanwhile, probably would mandate compliance to guidelines similar to those outlined for Monumental Sports and D.C. United, based on letters of approval each received from the mayor’s office and the District’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency.
It doesn’t sound like the District is looking for anything too extreme when it comes to conditions of a waiver: test regularly, report positives and expect regular inspections.
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