Sports
Coronavirus Forces FredNats To Postpone Mascot, Anthem Auditions
The FredNats postponed until further notice their mascot and national anthem auditions scheduled for Saturday due to the coronavirus.
FREDERICKSBURG, VA — The Fredericksburg Nationals have postponed until further notice auditions scheduled for Saturday for people interested in singing the national anthem before games and working as the team mascot due to the new coronavirus, or COVID-19. The auditions were scheduled to take place at the University of Mary Washington's Hurley Convergence Center Digital Auditorium.
Earlier this month, the team held its initial tryouts at the University of Mary Washington for emcees, public address announcers, team mascots and national anthem performers at FredNats home games. The team has not scheduled a new date for the mascot and national anthem auditions.
In the meantime, the team said it will be accepting video auditions sent by direct message to the FredNats Facebook page or by email at [email protected]. "We are putting the safety of our staff, fans and our community at the forefront of everything that we do at this time," the baseball organization said this week.
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The FredNats also said they do not know how the decision to delay the start of the minor league baseball season will affect its first home game scheduled for April 23. "[W]e are continuing with all preparations to be ready for April 23 should the public health situation allow for our season to proceed on that date," the team said.
However, the team has postponed the start of sales for individual game tickets due to the coronavirus.
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The FredNats also have closed their team store in downtown Fredericksburg until further notice. Fans can still shop online at fredericksburgnationals.milbstore.com.
Fredericksburg's city council voted to approve a deal in November 2018 to bring the Potomac Nationals Class A baseball franchise in Woodbridge to the city in time for the 2020 season. A new 5,000-seat stadium at Celebrate Virginia near Central Park on Interstate 95 is under construction. The team broke ground on the new stadium in February 2019.
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