In the sporting nation par excellence, the United States, they do everything in their power to play in major competitions. It is not surprising, of course, to realize that billions of dollars are at risk. Reporter Martin van Laar from Algemeen Dagblad explains the plans.
baseball
Every year, in the lead-up to the new season, the best baseball teams in the world meet for the first time during what is called spring training, a series of training games in two states. 15 MLB teams compete against each other in Arizona (Cactus League) and the other 15 teams in Florida (Grapefruit League). After about a month they all return home, ready to start at the end of March. But of course that beginning has not happened yet.
Plan 1
According to American media, the Major League Soccer now has two serious plans to save the season. These two countries play a leading role in this. The first and most likely at the moment is to complete all games in Arizona, starting at the end of July at the earliest. This creates a kind of colony of players and essential staff, who will only stay in hotels and be transported to matches and facilities, all located within 100 kilometers of each other. All this in order to keep the risk of contamination to a minimum. Logically, the public is not welcome, although that may change during the season.
Plan 2
The second plan also includes Florida. One advantage is that half of the MLB teams there already have their own facilities and stadiums, so they don’t have to move everything to Arizona. However, more travel is required and tropical Florida rainfall can be a major spoiler sport. On the other hand, it’s better to watch the numbers and TV revenue, because fans on the East Coast can watch their favorite team during prime time. There are also two large indoor baseball stadiums in Florida that could be used, perhaps also for a potential World Series. In both plans, this will take place at the end of November between the winners of the Cactus League and Grapefruit League.
Basketball
The NBA playoffs were already on the horizon when the coronavirus hit. Most teams still had about 20 games remaining in the regular season, when it became known that several players had also contracted the virus. Everything has been put on hold since then, but the world’s biggest basketball competition should get underway again from July. At least, if it’s up to NBA policymakers. how? Las Vegas must become the solution.
The NBA has a close relationship with the city, which has been the site of an annual summer league since 2004, where teams see rookies and experience players in action. There are at least 4 arenas that can accommodate more than 12,000 spectators, although it is questionable whether this will be allowed in time. But it’s a plus in such a scenario anyway.
The final games of the regular season should be played in July, although those could also be cancelled. The standings as they stand now are the final result. Not ideal of course, but that’s nothing these days. The playoffs then begin in August with 16 teams participating, and where winners usually emerge from a best-of-seven series, it’s now a best-of-five. The season will then end in September, not overlapping too much with the start of the more popular NFL and college football seasons. Also important: Many NBA players, including LeBron James, are open to the idea of playing basketball in Las Vegas.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey in the summer? It sounds strange, of course, but it’s definitely an option for the NHL. Although this seems like a hell of a job up front. The biggest problem: ice. Or rather: ice maintenance. However, that would be a much higher air conditioning bill. American Bert Boomsma (Ice Master of Thialf) will also have to work hard to maintain favorable conditions for potential playoff matches during the hottest days of the year.
North Dakota
An NHL plan that has been increasingly floated in recent weeks is to play the remainder of the season (a small number of regular-season games and playoffs) in North Dakota. The state may have little association with the NHL, but it has a history of hosting major college games. Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, also known as the Taj Mahal of hockey, seats about 12,000 fans, all of whom are typically University of North Dakota students. Maybe this summer for NHL fans. Anyway, the stadium is big enough.
Open your arms
The state’s governor has already said he would welcome the NHL with open arms. The fact that North Dakota is one of the states with the fewest infections is also important. Low population density in these times of social distancing is good. But this is also a disadvantage. Are there enough hotels to accommodate the 16 teams? What about training facilities? In short, there are still many questions to be answered before this scenario becomes a reality.
