It’s not yet known when professional sports will return to Southern California. The NBA and NHL are in the midst of plans that would resume their seasons in bubble cities. At least with the NHL, Los Angeles is being considered as one of the host cities.
California’s reopening plans amid the COVID-19 pandemic could complicate things further. As the epicenter of the virus in the state, Los Angeles will certainly play a role in what California Governor Gavin Newsom decides moving forward.
It’s in this that the nine professional sports teams in Los Angeles joined in with sports agent and former Arena Football League owner Casey Wasserman in providing a blueprint for the city on how sports can return safely.
“In seeking to expedite the process, Wasserman submitted a 26-page blueprint to county supervisors with minimum standards teams had agreed to follow in such areas as monitoring the health of athletes and staff, observing social distancing off the field, and keeping facilities sanitary,” Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times noted. “By the end of the day, he said, each team in town planned to provide a more detailed plan to county public health officials, specific to its respective sport and venue.”
As of right now, the immediacy of sports returning to Los Angeles includes only Major League Baseball. That includes the Angels and Dodgers. Though, a rift between MLB and players have complicated things in that regard. The initial plan was for the 2020 season to begin some time in July with teams hosting games in their stadiums. That’s now up in the air.
What we do know is that if baseball does return this summer, it will most likely be without fans in attendance in California. Other states have gone against the grain and will allow up to 25% capacity for outside sporting events.