California could allow pro sports without fans by first week of June

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Monday that the state could see professional sports return without fans by the first week of June.

Newsom made the announcement during a COVID-19 response press conference.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state could see pro sports return by the first week of June without fans. pic.twitter.com/j4PPg56Yn7
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) May 18, 2020

This is huge news for MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL teams in the state.

We previously dove into a scenario in which the three California-based NFL teams might have been forced to look into playing out of the state for the 2020 season. But this updated timeline shows that it might be possible for them to remain in the state and start training camps on time.

Interestingly enough, at least one prominent player thinks those very conversations had everything to do with the updated timeline.

Money changes everything. Teams started exploring options outside the state and all of a sudden the timeline changed https://t.co/eeAIl8B4bg
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) May 18, 2020

This timeline is, of course, contingent upon the state of California continuing to see a downward trend in hospitalizations and number of ICU patients due to COVID-19. The good news is, that’s exactly what has happened recently.

NEW: Over the last 14 days, CA has seen:
– 7.5% decline in hospitalizations.
– 8.7% decline in the number of ICU patients statewide.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) May 18, 2020

We’re all rooting for the COVID-19 pandemic to subside and for some normalcy in our lives. Getting sports back would be a huge part of that. The sports that have returned have done exceedingly well. Hopefully these positive trends continue, and that’s exactly what happens in the weeks to come.