Spring training's postponement impacts small businesses, ballpark employees

If it weren’t for the ongoing MLB lockout, spring training games would already be underway for the league’s 30 teams. The economic boost that comes with Spring Training is "greatly missed" according to a local business owner.

TAMPA, Fla. – If it weren’t for the ongoing MLB lockout, spring training games would already be underway for the league’s 30 teams.

But not only are spring training fields empty and fans disappointed. Normally, these games bring lots of tourists to cities like Tampa, Florida, and a local business is missing the action.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

A base on the field before the spring training game between the New York Yankees and the Miami Marlins at George M. Steinbrenner Field on March 18, 2018, in Tampa, Florida. (B51/Mark Brown/Getty Images)

"We do get a great business when the Yankees play," George Pavlakos, the former long-time owner of Mom’s Place, a breakfast spot located down the street from the Yankees' George M. Steinbrenner Field, told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. 

Mom's is not only a local favorite but a Yankees favorite too.

"We used to cater to a lot of the Yankees. They used to come in and we’d feed them breakfast," Pavlakos said.

Pavlakos said the restaurant can still rely on its regular customers for business, but spring training normally brings a boom of customers as locals and tourists flood the area to see a game.

"And that is greatly missed," he said.

It’s a similar story across Florida and Arizona, where the MLB's 30 teams play their spring training games. About half of the teams play in Florida in cities like Fort Meyers, West Palm Beach and Lakeland. The other half play in the greater Phoenix area, in cities like Tempe, Mesa and Scottsdale.