San Diego Padres fans will get refunds on canceled home games as a result of Major League Baseball’s failure to reach a new contract with the players union, the team said Tuesday.
Team owner and chairman Peter Seidler said in a blog post that anyone who bought group tickets, a hospitality space or a suite to one or more of the canceled games will get a full refund, exchange game date for another game during the 2022 season, or move the credit to a deposit for the 2023 season.
Opening Day had been set for March 31. Those who had tickets will receive their same seat locations for the new Opening Day game (yet to be determined), he said.
Seidler reacted to Tuesday’s announcement that MLB has yet to reach a new collective bargaining agreement with the Major League Baseball Players Association and the first week of 2022 regular season games are canceled.
“I am deeply disappointed by the continuing work stoppage, which hurts all of us who love, enjoy and respect the game,” he said. “I am hopeful that a deal can and will be reached with further negotiations.”
He said the club was working hard to build a consistently winning team “that you deserve…. When the season begins, we will be ready to compete for our first World Series Championship and need your continued support.”
He echoed MLB on saying four weeks of Spring Training were needed for players to safely prepare for the season, and thus the first two series have been removed from the schedule.
“Our goal is to provide a refund policy that makes it as easy as possible for you to receive a refund for any canceled games,” Seidler said. “Members who have paid in full will automatically receive a refund for the value of the canceled games and members enrolled in a payment plan will have their remaining balance reduced by the value of the canceled games, and monthly payments will be adjusted based on the updated balance.”
All refunds may take up to 30 business days and will be credited to the original method of payment, he said.
“In the event additional home games are canceled, this refund policy will apply, and no additional action is required.”
Tuesday’s deadline for a new CBA passed without a deal as the players voted to reject the league’s final proposal before 5 p.m. ET, MLB said.
With no deal in place, MLB announced that each team’s first two series of the regular season will not be played, meaning that the regular season will begin no earlier than April 7, while Spring Training games will begin no earlier than March 12.
“We worked hard to avoid an outcome that is bad for our fans, bad for our players and bad for our clubs,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said in Jupiter, Fla., where talks were taking place. “I want to assure our fans that our failure to reach an agreement was not due to a lack of effort on the part of either party.”
