Coronavirus: NBA postpones season, NCAA March Madness without fans as empty arenas the new norm

Bans on mass gatherings make sporting events top target in trying to contain Covid-19 as leagues grapple with tough decisions

The financial toll will be heavy as multiple teams are now set to play games in empty arenas while event cancellations pile up

3-MIN READ3-MIN

The NBA became the first major North American sports league to postpone its season after one of its players tested positive for Covid-19. Photo: AP

Patrick Blennerhassett

Patrick Blennerhassett is an award-winning Canadian journalist and four-time published author.

Published: 3:02pm, 12 Mar 2020Updated: 3:02pm, 12 Mar 2020

When it comes to mass gatherings, there is no bigger market than professional sporting events. Concerts, conferences and festivals are large industries, but in the wake of coronavirus fears and subsequent precautionary tactics, the world of sport has become one of the front lines in containing the coronavirus.

As news trickled into Hong Kong this morning, many people got a shock when checking their news feeds, the pandemic and pandemonium had spread to North America, the central web of the world’s economy led by the United States. Within this realm lies its sports market, a financial behemoth now squarely faced with daunting challenges in how to handle a virus that has quickly swept the world with panic and fear.

The four major leagues: the National Basketball League, the National Football League, Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League have a net worth of US$75 billion dollars, according to a report from PwC.

When you factor in media rights, gate revenue, sponsorship deals and merchandising, it’s size and gravitational force is impossible to underestimate. Americans in particular live and breathe sports, from Nascar and tennis to golf and soccer.

Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield waits for a game that never starts. Photo: AP

This isn’t even factoring in college sports in the NCAA’s Division 1 field, which includes 6,000 teams of what is estimated to be a US$13 billion dollar industry largely due to two sports: basketball and American football. Or Major League Soccer, one of the fastest growing professional sports leagues in the world, in which the Atlanta United squad, the largest in terms of revenue, is estimated to be worth more than half a billion dollars alone.