Sources: NBA mulls moving games to different cities due to coronavirus
As the NBA's Board of Governors prepares to confer with the commissioner's office in a critical conference call Wednesday on the coronavirus crisis, one of the scenarios introduced into the league's conversation includes moving some games to NBA cities that have yet to suffer outbreaks, league sources told ESPN.
If the virus clusters and forces a team out of its city and arena for a period of time, there has been discussion on moving games to the away opponent's arena if that city hasn't suffered an outbreak -- or even moving games to neutral cities and sites, league sources tell ESPN.
The NBA is discussing a number of possibilities -- including eliminating fans out from buildings for games or, more drastically, suspending game operations for a period of time -- but sources say decisions on those options remain complicated by the fact that there has been such a limited amount of public testing for the coronavirus in the United States. There is no full understanding of how widespread and debilitating the virus could become in the states.
After the Board of Governors call on Wednesday -- which is expected to include one designated ownership representative of each team, sources said -- there are two additional calls set for Thursday for team presidents and general managers, sources said.
So far, NBA teams have been hesitant to becoming the league's first to voluntarily eliminate fans from home games, sources said. While there is a conference call set for governors/owners on Wednesday on next steps, there's been a tremendous amount of communication between teams, the league and public health experts in recent weeks.
San Francisco health officials have yet to tell mandate that the Golden State Warriors play games without fans, but those conversations have been ongoing with the franchise. The Warriors are the league's highest-grossing team on game nights, averaging somewhere between $3.6 million and $3.8 million per game, sources said.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine recommended that indoor teams within that state play without fans for the immediate future, but the Cleveland Cavaliers are starting on a six-game road-trip and don't return home until March 24, which gives them time to evaluate the recommendation and decide how they might proceed.
The NBA eliminated media out of locker rooms with players in what the league says will be a temporary measure in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
ESPN's Ramona Shelburne contributed to this report.
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