(NewsNation Now) — With the Major League Baseball lockout currently in its 79th day, and the first week of spring training games canceled by MLB, some local businesses in close proximity to spring training facilities are getting worried as pitchers and catchers have yet to report — along with their customers.

Florida alone brings in about $700 million a year during the six weeks of spring training.

Andres Farfan, owner of the bar and restaurant Riveters Tampa near the Yankees facility, said he normally wouldn’t have empty tables this time of the year. If the lockout isn’t over soon, he said he may have to improvise.

“I’m going to have to get very creative, that’s for sure,” he said. “I’ll try to run specials and then just try to find a way to bring people in here as much as possible.”

Farfan said he never expected the lockout to last nearly 80 days.

“It makes me a little worried just to know what I’m going to do for the next couple of months,” he said.

At a time when many restaurants are still trying to recover from the pandemic, Farfan said he stands to lose $100,000 in sales if there is no spring training.

“The staff will obviously lose lots of money,” he said. “Hours will have to get cut. I mean, not only do I depend on the spring training, but the staff does, as well.”

Farfan was expecting big business after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted and many were excited about warm weather and baseball.

“Obviously, we’re expecting a really big turnout,” he said. “Especially because the weather has been really nice. And with the COVID restrictions being lifted in Florida, we really were expecting a huge crowd of people.”

In terms of lockout negotiations, the threat to opening day March 31 appeared to intensify Thursday when the drawn-out talks to end the lockout ended just 15 minutes after they had resumed following a four-day break.

After just the sixth meeting on core economics since the lockout began Dec. 2, the sides had differing interpretations of the brevity: The union didn’t read much into the short session, and management attributed the lack of length to having nothing to talk about.

Negotiators are set to resume bargaining on core economics on Monday, and MLB said members of the owners’ negotiating committee will attend the session, just the seventh on the central issues of the dispute since the lockout began Dec. 2.

Spring training was to have started this week, and the exhibition schedule had been set to begin on Feb. 26. There were 16 games set for that day, including the World Series champion Atlanta Braves playing Boston in Florida and the renamed Cleveland Guardians taking on Cincinnati in Arizona.

“We regret that, without a collective bargaining agreement in place, we must postpone the start of spring training games until no earlier than Saturday, March 5,” MLB said in a statement. “All 30 clubs are unified in their strong desire to bring players back to the field and fans back to the stands.”

MLB told the union it thinks Feb. 28 is the last possible date to reach an agreement that would allow a timely start to the season. The union didn’t respond to MLB on whether it agrees with that date or thinks there is additional time.

This is the third straight disrupted spring training, damaging local tourism economies in Florida and Arizona.

Games were cut short on March 12, 2020, because of the coronavirus pandemic, leading to opening day being pushed back from March 26 to July 23 and each team’s schedule cut from 162 games to 60.

While spring training started on time last year, pandemic restrictions led to capacity limits that depressed attendance.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.