The global coronavirus outbreak has impacted nearly every industry in the United States and around the world. Those impacts likely will continue for the foreseeable future as countries try and get the virus under control. The sports world has ground to a halt, with basically all major sports leagues and events postponing or canceling games.
With no firm plans on when games might resume, both the NBA and MLB have been looking at estimated dates on when each league could start operations again. The NBA is reportedly “bracing for the possibility of mid-to-late June as a best-case scenario for the league’s return” to playing, according to a report from ESPN. That date could change, but that is what the league is looking towards for the time being.
“Our world has changed since Wednesday’s [board of governors] call,” a team president told ESPN. “The reality isn’t lost on anyone right now.”
A Letter to NBA Fans pic.twitter.com/hPX6xhmy9d
— NBA (@NBA) March 13, 2020
Major League Baseball has announced it has pushed potential Opening Day games back until at least “mid-May at the earliest” after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that “gatherings of 50 people or more be canceled or postponed across the country for the next eight weeks.” The MLB previously canceled spring training and postponed the original Opening Day of March 26 for “at least two weeks.” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced the latest news after speaking on a conference call with all 30 team owners.
Statement from Major League Baseball: pic.twitter.com/E5xPfMGOc0
— MLB (@MLB) March 16, 2020
“The clubs remain committed to playing as many games as possible when the season begins,” the commissioner’s office said in a statement.
After previously considering playing without fans, the NBA opted to suspend the season after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus.
Sources told ESPN that “there’s a working plan that [NBA] games would return without fans, and teams have been told to search out arena dates well into August,” which would be used for the playoffs (without finishing the rest of the 2019-20 regular season). Teams have been asked to give the league potential dates and nearby venues like team practice facilities that could be used for games.
Follow along with this list of sports leagues and events for more updates and coverage on how the coronavirus is impacting the sports world:
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