Telegraph photo by TOM KING There likely won't be celebrations like this allowed at Nashua Silver Knights games, but there is joy around the Futures League with Monday's announcement of a 2020 season beginning with the Silver Knights home opener July 2.

NASHUA – The Nashua Silver Knights will have a 2020 season after all.

The Futures Collegiate Baseball League announced on Monday after months of intense discussion that it will begin its 10th season on Thursday, July 2, with the Silver Knights hosting the North Shore Navigators at Holman Stadium at 6 p.m.

“It’s mixed emotions, right?” Silver Knights owner John Creedon, Jr. said on Monday. “We’re excited on the one hand we get to launch the season, and there’s been a lot of hard work on the part of (general manager) Cam Cook and (assistant GM) Katie Arend, the front office, the owners and executives of the Futures League, and the commissioner of the Futures League (Joe Paolucci).

“But it’s not like this is clear sailing. We understand something like this could be received with mixed reaction. … We’re going to go slowly, we’re going to be measured, we’re going to be responsible, and be respectful of folks different feelings of the season happening.”

Also on July 2, Worcester will be at New Britain, Conn.

The FCBL season has been delayed for almost a month due to COVID-19.

The league will have a shortened, 39-games-per-team season, with the regular season ending Aug. 19 and a best-of-three championship series between the top two teams to follow.

However, only six teams will be competing this season instead of the expected seven. The Pittsfield (Mass.) Suns will go on hiatus for one season as team owner Jeff Goldklang cited an inability to carry out the necessary pandemic-related safety measures at historic Wahconah Park.

The remaining Massachusetts teams in Worcester, Westfield, Brockton and North Shore are expected to be able to host games beginning July 7 once that state enters Phase 3 of its reopening.

One of the keys for the league getting off the ground – especially after the Massachusetts teams were delayed in hosting games – was evidently, sources said, a successful lobbying effort on the part of the Silver Knights, with help from city officials and state officials to allow Massachusetts teams to come and play at Holman. The team had a walk through with city officials, including health officials, to safely play at Holman.

“That ended well,” Creedon said, adding the team will post its COVID Readiness Plan on its website soon. “Then the plan was to inquire of the governor’s office to ease that restriction (with Massachusetts teams) beginning June 29.”

Creedon on Friday, before sending yet another email to the Governor’s office, checked the 2.0 Guidance for amateur sports one more time and saw that the restriction had been removed to include Massachusetts along with Maine and Vermont teams.

“That particular restriction has been revised favorably, which was outstanding news,” Creedon said. “We’re looking forward to taking the next baby steps. … Getting to Opening Day is one thing, getting to Game 2 is another thing, and getting to Game 3 is another thing. This isn’t going to get easier as the summer goes on. … Every single person these days is shell-shocked. So even the best laid plans, nothing is certain these days, so we have to be able to embrace that uncertainty.”

“We’re optimistic we’re going to be able to play our entire schedule,” FCBL commissioner Joe Paolucci said. “But we’re going to do what’s right in all of our communities, and we’ll be keeping an eye on that. But I think that in each of our ballparks we have a good readiness plan in place and we just need to execute it.”

Paolucci said that in lieu of letters from the league’s various communities, including Nashua, the FCBL has received verbal acceptance and will receive those in writing in the next few days. “We felt confident enough, based on conversations our owners have had,” he said.

Silver Knights general manager Cam Cook said the fan attendance at Holman will be capped at 20 percent capacity, which will be at about 700 fans. The 150 season ticket holders will be given top priority, he said. Games at Holman will begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 3 p.m. on Sundays. Mondays will basically be off days, now with an even number of teams. The league’s original pre-pandemic schedule called for a split season, but that won’t be in play this year.

Creedon’s other team, the Worcester Bravehearts, still haven’t been allowed to use their home field on the closed campus of the College of Holy Cross. However, he said while talks with the school continue, he has a contingency plan.

As for Pittsfield, Goldklang told the Berkshire Eagle this past weekend that Wahconah’s layout would create “high traffic areas” despite limited attendance, and that limited office space would just add to the space problem on game days.

“Wahconah Park, while historic and charming, poses impossible restrictions on our abilities to maintain everybody’s safety,” Goldklang said in an email obtained by the Eagle.

“Pittsfield was hit really hard with coronavirus,” Paolucci said, “and they’ve basically shut that entire area down for the summer. … They just weren’t comfortable bringing fans back in.”

Nashua will be comfortable, but only to a certain extent. Creedon said he would defer to city health officials as to how often the players should be tested.

“It’s still pandemic baseball,” Creedon said. “It’s going to look different, it’s going to feel different, it’s going to operate differently in countless ways.

“But at the end of the day, it is wonderful to be on the precipice to be able to provide a season for Silver Knights players and something wonderful, outdoor, open air environment for families from Nashua to come out and enjoy.

“We’re going to have to make adjustments on the fly. Nothing about this has been easy up to this point. We don’t expect just because the league has made an announcement anything’s going to be any easier tomorrow or the next day.”

Paolucci concurred.

“I don’t think this is over by any stretch of the imagination,” he said. “There could be some bumps in the road for us, but we’re prepared for it. We think we made the right decision, though.”

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