On a normal game day, Arkansas Travelers General Manager Paul Allen arrives at Dickey-Stephens Park between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., many hours before fans settle in and a pitch is thrown.
"I like to say the first half of our day is real mental, dealing with just kind of logistics and getting things ready to go," Allen told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Friday. "The second half of the day gets a little more physical, and you're literally putting things in place. And then by the time the seventh inning hits, you've really hit a wall and you're drained and you're tired and you get home probably closer to midnight, and then you hit that pillow and you're out."
It's a lifestyle that's become ingrained in him during his 16 years of working in professional baseball, of which the past 71/2 years he's spent as the Travs' GM. This time of year, 100-hour workweeks are common, and the Travs' home stadium in North Little Rock is like a second home to Allen.
To have all of it on hold at the moment, Allen said is "very odd."
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But as weeks pass in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, it's becoming increasingly unlikely that Allen's sense of normal will return this year.
Even with Major League Baseball owners on Monday giving the go-ahead on a proposal that could start the MLB season in early July and play an 82-game schedule with larger rosters and expanded playoffs, there's been little to no noise about a potential minor-league schedule.
"Every day that goes by, I get a little more concerned about it," Allen said. "But any positive news about a major-league season, it definitely makes you feel a little more optimistic about potential of a minor-league season.
"The quicker they can get back, the better it is for us. The longer it drags out, obviously it kind of pushes us a little bit more behind."
The minors don't have the multi-billion-dollar TV deals that the majors are accustomed to. Minor-league teams are run like small businesses, relying heavily on ticket sales and game-day revenue to keep the lights on.
That's why it doesn't make much sense to play minor-league games without fans in the stands, whereas MLB -- as well as the NBA, NHL and NFL -- can afford it. The American Hockey League, the premier minor league for the NHL, announced Monday it was canceling the rest of its season, which could put pressure on minor-league baseball to do the same.
With social distancing measures in place at the state and local levels, it could be a long time before fans pack into stadiums again at any level and at any capacity.
Still, Allen is prepared in case the Travs can play baseball this year.
"We're all just ready to get going, and we're doing everything we can to make sure the ballpark is still beautiful and we keep up everything, so that if they said we're playing baseball tomorrow, we'd get going and be ready," Allen said. "But we're realistic, and we're planning both ways. So if we don't have a season, we're thinking of ways that we can engage with the community."
Allen said the Travs' full-time staff, which totals 23, will continue to be paid. The club has not issued furloughs or reductions in salaries, Allen said, nor are there plans to do so.
Allen said the Travs will survive financially this year if there's no baseball.
"Our organization has been fiscally responsible," he said. "There was a small rainy day fund. You don't expect it to be for a pandemic -- no one saw that coming -- but the organization, under our leadership with [assistant general manager] Rusty Meeks, has been very responsible, and we will be OK.
"We've taken care of, of course, our full-time staff. Come 2021, if that's the next time we play baseball, we will be firing on all cylinders."
But could the Travs stay afloat if the 2021 season is affected?
"I would say we need baseball next year," Allen said. "We need baseball in 2021 for sure."
Until then, Allen and his staff are looking to make use of Dickey-Stephens Park in unconventional ways. Some could involve baseball, and some not at all.
"If it's like 10 or less [people], then maybe it's family time that people can book on the field and just come play catch, or little batting practice with their family," Allen said. "If it's, 'Hey, we can bring in 5,000 people,' there potentially could be some tournament-type opportunities or showcases or things like that ... firework shows."
Any events or outings the club seeks to hold at the ballpark will be subject to social distancing guidelines that state and local officials have in place. There's no guarantee some of the ideas Allen and his staff have tossed around will even be feasible.
But the Travs' GM said he still sees hope for Dickey-Stephens Park this year, whether that involves baseball or not.
"It's a beautiful facility," Allen said, "and baseball, and just things within a community, are good for kind of healing in a sense to get back to whatever our new normal will be. I think baseball and facilities like ours will be important."
Sports on 05/16/2020