The Western Canadian Baseball League’s 2020 season was officially cancelled Wednesday night.

The league put out a release shortly after 10:30 p.m. on May 27 announcing that their Board of Governors voted unanimously to cancel this year’s summer season. They noted it would be impossible to guarantee the safety of all those involved in making a WCBL season possible.

Having already pushed back the potential start day as far as possible in hopes of playing a shortened season, the WCBL says they exhausted all possible options in searching for a potential format or scenario that would result in a season.

From the WCBL’s release:

“Pushing back the start date of the season until July 4 or playing with only Canadian players to prevail over border issues are a couple options the league explored before cancelling. With the Federal government announcing that the border will remain closed until at least June 22, and that people must self-isolate for 14 days once they cross the border, we would not have enough time to carry out a season. Gathering size and social distancing were also major factors. With the Provincial governments announcing that gathering sizes are restricted to 50 persons, teams would face serious challenges trying to get fans into the stadiums. Social distancing would be a challenge in clubhouses and especially on buses that teams must use for travel purposes. The League even explored the option of reducing stadium capacities to allow for better social distancing and by operating with temperature checks and masks. Unfortunately, our franchises will not be able to adjust to the economic impact of such a model due to the reality that our teams rely mainly on park generated revenues plus the community initiatives to fund operations.”

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