MADISON- “I’m extremely disappointed we will not be playing baseball in this stadium this year, but we will survive and just have to wait a bit longer.”

Those words came from Rocket City Trash Pandas’ CEO and principal owner Ralph Nelson during a press conference inside SportsMED Stadium Club at Toyota Field as he announced that Major League Baseball has decided not to host Minor League Baseball in 2020.

According to a memo from Major League Baseball, this is the first time in the history of MLB there will be a summer without Minor League Baseball and the decision leaves no uncertainty of what the current season will or will not be.

Nelson has sent a letter to the 1,900 season ticket holders about their options on their purchase and added, “I met with the staff on this very spot and challenged them as we’re no longer a baseball company-we have become  an event and merchandise company.”

In the last 30 days there have been 26 different events held at Toyota Field and utilizing the facility in this capacity was part of the original plan among the 30-year partnership with the City of Madison. Only three staff employees have been laid off, according to Nelson, who praised his staff as the best he’s ever worked with.

“We’ve known this unofficially for a while and met with the staff a month ago,” said Nelson. “Local politicians are helping us obtain some government money to help during this challenging time. We have some big decisions to make concerning sponsors who have backed us this far. This is a very disappointing day for our team and organization.”