LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — A sunny spring day in May is a perfect setting for a baseball game but at PNC Field in Lackawanna County, the stadium sits empty.
Opening day came and went on April 9th and as COVID-19 continues to halt life as we know it, it's not clear if the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders will have a season.
"We're still very much wait and see," said Adam Marco with the Railriders. "We're prepping as if we can start a couple of weeks from now, even though the more time passes, the more difficult it is to consider that a reality."
That means the fate of the highly anticipated Triple-A All-Star Game hosted by PNC Field in July isn't clear.
Thousands are expected to descend on Montage Mountain for that two-day event.
"Fans that have purchased tickets, we've got over 5000 tickets purchased for each day of this event," said Marco.
And now the popular Peach Festival and Camp Bisco have canceled this year's musical performances on Montage Mountain, rescheduling for July of next year.
Area businesses say the lack of baseball and the loss of those concerts means the loss of thousands of dollars.
"We just got notice of it yesterday, so we are getting a lot of calls to cancel [hotel reservations]," said Jade Johnson with Courtyard by Marriott. "But yeah, a lot of people are canceling them."
"It's very sad and depressing, knowing that there's nothing. It's totally dead, even around here at like 9 o'clock, 8 o'clock, there's nothing," said Heather Kineler at Nonna's Pizza.
The Railriders say it has been planning for the All-Star game and the events surrounding it since 2018, and it would be such a shame to see all that hard work and dedication go to waste.
"Really two years of planning to try to create the best showcase for NEPA and making sure the game is sold out and making sure the homerun derby is sold out," said Marco.
Making the All-Star game all the more important; the Railriders say it would be the first time that game has been held in Northeastern Pennsylvania since 1995.