If you typically spend your evenings watching sports, you’re going to have to make other plans in the coming weeks, as sports leagues around the world are postponing events in an attempt to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, ATP and college conferences have either suspended their seasons, postponed or cancelled events for the near future. While the situation continues to change hour-by-hour and we could see other organizations join that list, there are still a few major sports events still set to continue with altered plans.
NASCAR announced Thursday that it will still stage upcoming scheduled races at Atlanta and Homestead, but that spectators will be barred. There are Truck Series and Xfinity Series races scheduled for Saturday, March 14th at Atlanta, and the Cup Series’ Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 will still take place on Sunday afternoon.
The PGA Tour is also planning on staging events without spectators in the coming weeks. The Tour announced on Thursday – during the opening round of The Players Championship – that no fans would be allowed on the course beginning on Friday (as huge crowds of fans watched first-round play). The Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in the Dominican Republic (March 26-29) has been postponed due to travel issues caused by the coronavirus, but the Valspar Championship, the WGC-Match Play and the Valero Texas Open will be held without fans, as of Thursday.
UFC will still reportedly stage an event on Saturday in Brazil in an empty arena, according to Combate. The event, Fight Night 171, will air on ESPN+. UFC has major events scheduled for the next three weekends, with Tyron Woodley and Leon Edwards headlining a Fight Night card in London on March 21st, and Francis Ngannou and Jairzinho Rozenstruik headlining Fight Night in Columbus, Ohio, on March 28th. Ohio governor Mike DeWine has already banned large indoor gatherings in the state, which means that event will either have to be held in an empty arena, moved or postponed.
The NCAA tournament. as of Thursday afternoon, has not been canceled or postponed – but it certainly seems like a matter of time before it is. All power conferences have cancelled their tournaments by Thursday, and two blue blood programs, Kansas and Duke, are among those that have suspended all sports and athletic-related travel.
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