I want matches without fans as soon as all clubs can test all players and staff. Just to have something to watch.
I've said this elsewhere but football without fans is pickup soccer. Since this is the prediction thread, I predict that I won't watch or attend any games in 2020.
Normally yes, but the TV revenue from sports will exceed any stadium revenue. So they can soft-open. That can give teams a chance to design and manufacture fan masks for all fans that attend. Send them to all season ticket members. Once they allow fans people with masks get a line to enter with 6 foot spaces between people. Non STM can get them outside of the stadia.
Oh, I'll watch games with no fans. If they mic the field right, it would be a really fascinating thing to watch.
I think the first public open sporting events are going to be really interesting. They'll have to at a minimum require masks for everyone. Have some kind of social distancing and maybe even limit crowds somehow. Keep in mind, we're looking at 12-24 months before there is a vaccine. Something like a sporting event could blow up the whole DMV into a hotspot in no time. It will be interesting to see how things going in Germany with the Bundisliga teams starting to train. Even still, the Germans were able to tamp down Covid19 because they sheltered in place really hard and that was a cultural thing, which we've seen here, American's aren't really good at.
Won't be a problem for my Orioles. We've been social distancing at Camden Yards since before it was cool.
I was planning on being there this coming Tuesday to see the Cubs play. Bummed that I have to miss out - it's a great stadium.
In Europe they are talking also to end the current season in the fall, if in the summer doesn't work, and then play the 2021 and 2022 seasons during a calendar year, so to arrive without any obstacles to the 2022 winter World Cup. It would be incredible if they did that, and in the meantime MLS switched to a late summer to spring calendar
What about Montreal, Toronto, Boston, NYC, Philly, Columbus, Chicago, Minn, KC, Denver, and DC? Are they going to host games in December thru February?
I had written this in another post, but I can't expect people to read every single word of all the threads, so I am reposting it here: For me, it is start in August and play till December (mid month) with the teams in the coldest areas playing more home games in the warmer months, and vice versa. Have a 45-60 days winter break, then restart with the teams in the warmer areas playing more home games in the coldest months and vice versa, then end the season and playoffs. Two advantages: 1) you will probably be starting being considered a higher level league worldwide rather than some kind of exotic one 2) it's better to have two shorter breaks - one in the winther and one in the summer - rather than a 4-5 months one. Without counting that teams in CCL will have even a shorter break and will probably be better fit for when they have to start playing again in February for this tournament.
Interesting on ESPN FC tonight, they were saying that asking the players for a 50% salary reduction could just hide the real and worst scenario, which is not coming back at all in 2020. In fact, if games came back, they would be likely played behind closed doors for much or the rest of the season. And MLS teams rely a lot on tickets, merchandise etc, more than on TV rights, which are $90mln. (just to use a point of reference, NBA Tv rights are $2.5 bln). Financially speaking, it would be more convenient to pay the players half of their salaries and cancel the rest of the season, rather than paying them the whole salary and play the rest of the games behind closed doors. This is what they were saying it could be happening, not what will happen for sure.
You know you responded to my post about MLS player salaries in another thread 6 hours before you posted about it in this one, right?