Big League Dreams Mansfield to reopen after closing due to positive COVID-19 test
The Big League Dreams sports facility in Mansfield was expected to reopen Tuesday after closing because an employee received a positive test result for COVID-19.
The park canceled games scheduled for Sunday after officials confirmed that an employee had tested positive. The park began the sanitation process Monday, said Kevin Flora, senior vice president of park operations for Big League Dreams.
A family member of the infected employee reached out to park officials about the possibility the employee had contracted COVID-19 and test results for that employee were later confirmed, Flora said.
Park officials also launched a contact tracing effort among staff to make sure no other employees had been infected and no other positive tests results have been reported, Flora said.
“All of the potential employees, anyone who worked on his shift was offered to get a free test or they could self quarantine,” Flora said. “All the tests so far have come back negative. There are 12 employees who worked on the shift with this employee over the past eight days.”
The employee was a food service worker who was constantly moving around, Flora said. He was never around any other employee nor was he in any contact with any customer for an extended period of time, Flora said.
All employees wear masks and gloves at all times and there are plastic shields at customer points of contact, Flora said. The infected employee has been in self-quarantine and will not be allowed to return to work until he is COVID-19 negative, Flora said.
“We are fairly confident that the employee likely contracted the disease from a family member,” Flora said.
The Big League Dreams Mansfield facility initially reopened on June 13, Flora said. The Mansfield facility has eight ballparks and two restaurants. The restaurants are allowed to maintain a 75% capacity limit per state guidelines, Flora said. There are no limitations on spectators, Flora said.
Flora said the facility has been the site of past city of Mansfield July 4 Independence Day celebrations but it is not yet known whether those festivities will be conducted at the park this year.
This story was originally published June 23, 2020 at 3:18 PM.
