Opening Day is right around the corner, and questions have been raised as to whether sports teams will play their games in empty stadiums.
Major League Baseball, the NBA, NHL and MLS released a joint statement Monday saying the leagues will close locker room access to the media, while the Santa Clara County Public Health Department banned all “mass events” that would bring in 1,000 or more people for three weeks.
And while playing without fans has been brought up on several occasions, nothing is confirmed just yet. Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins doesn’t envision his team will take on the Boston Red Sox on March 26 in an empty Rogers Centre.
“It’s obviously not a situation we want to be in,” Atkins said Tuesday, via SportsNet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. “It’s become a baseball issue, but in our minds it’s much more of a public health issue. We’re following the lead of Major League Baseball, which has worked closely with public health officials to determine this is one measure that we can take and one that we certainly deem to be temporary. We’re following their lead.
Atkins was also asked if he thinks the game could be played in an empty stadium.
“I certainly hope not,” Atkins said. “I don’t envision that.”
While we’re all hopeful, a lot can happen between now and March 26.
