WASHINGTON — Cancellations begin to mount in the sports world over fears due to COVID-19.
The Ivy League has cancelled its conference tournament due to coronavirus concerns. Yale, which won the regular season title, will represent the Ivy League at the NCAA tournament if there is one.
Ohio's governor Mike DeWine requested on Tuesday for no spectators for indoor events in his state.
The Mid-American Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament is set to resume in Cleveland on Thursday with the quarterfinals.
The NCAA tournament's First Four is slate for Tuesday and Wednesday of next week in Dayton, OH.
The play-in games draw thousands to the region and has an estimated $4.5 Million direct economic impact according to Jacquelyn Powell, president of the Dayton Convention and Visitors Bureau in a 2019 interview with Dayton Daily News.
Having no fans at First Four NCAA tournament games will affect ticket sales, concessions, parking companies, restaurants and bars around the area.
A large number of people won't work if no fans attend games.
NCAA president Mark Emmert says in a statement that they haven't been advised against holding sporting events so far.
In the event circumstances change, Emmert says they will make decisions accordingly.
This could impact women’s NCAA tournament first and second round games scheduled to be held at on-campus sites.
The Maryland women’s basketball team is expected to receive a number one seed in the NCAA tournament and would be scheduled to host first and second round games at Xfinity Center.
On Monday Maryland’s senior associate vice president for student affairs, Warren Kelly, said events scheduled through April 5, 2020, should be canceled.
The school announced Tuesday that students will not return to campus after spring break, which begins this weekend, until April 10, at the earliest. All classes will be conducted online beginning March 30.
The NCAA women’s basketball tournament first and second round games are scheduled to be held between March 20 and March 23.
We've already seen other events worldwide either cancel or play their games in empty arenas.
MLB, MLS, the NBA, and the NHL released a joint statement on Monday announcing that locker room access would temporarily be restricted to players and essential personnel.
The CAA tournament went ahead as scheduled in southeast D.C. at the Entertainment & Sports Arena with no changes being made to their attendance policy or locker room restrictions.
Sports Director Darren Haynes spoke with one NCAA official who told him that everything is constantly changing and “you don't want to be the one that didn't do enough.”
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