By Peter Maiden
On Dec. 22, there was free Covid-19 testing held in the parking lot adjacent to Chukchansi Park in downtown Fresno. The testing was held by the City of Fresno, in partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB), the COVID-19 Equity Project and the African American Coalition. It is to continue on a weekly basis.
In a statement, Fresno City Council President Miguel Arias said, “We welcome our new partnership with Major League Baseball, in providing free saliva-based testing for our City of Fresno residents. This new testing process will provide you with results within 24 hours. These are the kinds of partnerships we look forward to with MLB in our city during these difficult times.”
The connection between MLB and Fresno has gone through some changes recently. The Fresno Grizzlies are no longer sponsored by the Washington Nationals. To secure a new sponsor, the Grizzlies had to drop from being a AAA club to being Class A, two levels down. They will now be sponsored by the Colorado Rockies.
For the Grizzlies to continue to play at Chukchansi Park, the City of Fresno granted them some new subsidies, lowering their costs.
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Peter Maiden is the photo editor of the Community Alliance newspaper.
