Titans owner optimistic team will play ball this year
The toughest opponent for the Ottawa Titans Baseball Club in 2020 isn't any of the other Frontier League teams; it's the COVID-19 pandemic.
But Titans co-owner Sam Katz is confident his expansion team will soon be playing home and away games, as planned.
The 2021 schedule, which was released Wednesday, has the Titans opening their season May 27 at home to the Tri-City ValleyCats. Several things have to happen for that to go as planned, but Katz, who also owns the Winnipeg Goldeyes, says everything is pushing ahead in a positive way.
“All the owners are excited; we're all ready to move forward,” said Katz. “God willing, that's what we'll be able to do. I can tell you this, our goal will be to play baseball; the Ottawa Titans will play baseball this season.
“I'm ecstatic the schedule has been released. By the same token, we all know there are still some challenges out there. Hopefully, those will be rectified and we'll be able to cross the border and vice versa. Of course, that's beyond our control, but it's certainly our goal and our intention. We have a complete COVID-19 protocol plan in place for the Ottawa Titans at our ballpark — it's ready to roll.”
The U.S.-Canada border standstill is one roadblock, but it's not as big an issue as the 14-day quarantine rule. Said Katz: “Fourteen days is not going to work. The good news is in the U.S. of A, these players will probably all be getting vaccines long before you and me.”
It's not easy trying to formulate a plan in the midst of a pandemic that has, at times, included lockdowns, stay-at-home orders and businesses shut down for lengthy periods of time. With COVID rates sliding and the hope that more and more Canadians get vaccinated in the coming days, weeks and months, Katz has kept hope.
“It's almost like you're an air traffic controller and there are a lot of planes trying to land, that's the best analogy I can think of at the moment,” he said. “We're trying to land a few, which will obviously make things much more black and white. Last year in Winnipeg, we put together a COVID -19 protocol plan and it was approved. The No. 1 criteria was the safety of our fans, our staff and our players. As you go along in time, the plans even get better as things come up.
“This is a very changing environment, but I do know this — as far as the venue goes, it can be totally safe where we can play baseball games with fans in the stands. It could be 20 per cent fans, it could be 25 per cent it could be 30 per cent … but that will be determined later on. I'm sure the other sports franchises in Ottawa — whether it's football or soccer or whatever the case may be — are exploring what the opportunities are and what percentages will be allowed. Restaurants are opening up to 25 per cent capacity with social distancing, they're indoors. We're outdoors, we have many entrances and exits and we can do cohorts. To have 2,000 people, maybe more, should be a piece of cake.
“If you want to interpret it as optimism, so be it. I just think it's very realistic. Going down the road, you never know what could happen. We've seen the ups and downs. We're hoping things will get better and we'll be able to do more people as things get safer. Whatever the government dictates is what the government dictates and that's the protocols we'll be following.”
Katz said he intentionally hasn't had meaningful discussions with either the Manitoba or Ontario governments. He wanted to see the infection rates go down and the provinces get into a better place. Now it's on his plate to make contact and start talking to government officials in both provinces.
The Goldeyes played their 2020 American Association season out of North Dakota, a scenario that won't/can't happen in 2021.
“We played there in the hope things would change and we'd have the opportunity to go back,” said Katz. “But as you know, the border never opened so we stayed there and played our games. We're not in a position to do what we did last year again. Just think of any business — you've had no revenue for like 20 months, but all your expenses are still there. It just doesn't work.
“Our goal will be for the Goldeyes to play in Winnipeg and for the Titans to play in Ottawa. And right now we're optimistic that will be a reality. We don't know about the border situation, but there are discussions going on. I'm sure there will be recommendations coming forward in the near future. The key thing is to keep the number of COVID cases down and the number of hospitalizations down and that will have a major impact on everything.”