By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
With a pandemic crisis gripping the U.S. and Las Vegas, the National Football League scrubbed its over-the-top public Las Vegas Draft events that was going to shut down the Strip and include the Bellagio fountains and Caesars forum in April. That was a no-brainer in the age of COVID-19.
And while last week’s NFL off-field activity of high-profile trades and news of star quarterback Tom Brady taking his 40-something skill set to Tampa Bay were a taste of normalcy, it’s hard not to ponder the impact of the COVID-19 spread on the Summer Olympics and even the NFL season.
With no road map or end point for the worldwide virus’ spread in the U.S., it’s unclear when the nation’s professional sports leagues will re-start. The NBA, NHL and MLS seasons are on pause, while Major League Baseball’s start is delayed. The U.S. is at the front door of responding to the worldwide virus and but where is the exit? What about the National Football League and the Raiders here in Las Vegas? Teams signed and traded players amid lots of hoopla last week, but will there be an NFL football at the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium in August and preseason games in five months?
Will a country where President Trump said people should avoid groups of 10 be a place where a group of 65,000 will pack Allegiant Stadium and stand side-by-side for a Garth Brooks concert scheduled for Aug. 22?
There are more than 35,000 coronavirus cases in the U.S., including 190 cases in Nevada as of Sunday. Las Vegas’ economy is fueled by visitors, so even if the COVID-19 crisis is quelled in Southern Nevada how will Vegas stay healthy if hotels are back open and visitors from across the country come to Las Vegas. The sinister nature of the virus is that people can carry COVID-19 without even knowing it because they might not feel sick, which means they can infect others with the virus and not even know it.
The International Olympic Committee is mulling options for the Toyko 2020 Games, with Canada and Australia already saying they are pulling out of of the Summer Olympics if the games in Japan are not delayed. The Olympics were scheduled for July 24-Aug. 9. Keep in mind the Raiders and the NFL start their preseason games in August.
No answers. Just questions — and bigger public health issues to dwell on that big-time sports, even if it’s the NFL and a brand-new Taj Mahal of a football stadium in Las Vegas.
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