Cuomo Says Pro Sports Can Immediately Start Spring Training

TOPLINE

In a Sunday press conference, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said professional sports leagues can immediately begin training camps while undertaking health precautions, the latest step taken by the state as it inches toward normalcy amid the pandemic—and in seeming agreement with President Trump, who also expressed a desire to see sports back in action.

KEY FACTS

Crucial quote

“I would like to start watching sports,” Cuomo said April 14. “You know, whether or not we sit in a stadium with thousands of others, I don’t know that that is in the short term for the foreseeable future, but I don’t know why we can’t watch it on television, right? Why can’t you have games with no audiences, and just to start the sports and entertainment so people have something to watch and follow?”

big number

$5 billion. That’s how much Forbes estimated that suspended operations during coronavirus cost most major sports properties, losses comprised of ticket sales, concessions, sponsorships and TV rights fees.

Key background

Cuomo has said in multiple press conferences that he’d like to see sports start up again. He has previously acknowledged that it’s an economic question as much as a public health one, saying that leagues “have to make that decision, but any way we can help, we would help.”

TANGENT

After Long Island and Mid-Hudson reopen, New York City will be the only region left in the state not to have met Cuomo’s benchmarks to start the process.

Further reading

New York Coronavirus Deaths Fall To Less Than 100 Per Day (Forbes)

For U.S. Sports Leagues, The Cost Of Coronavirus Is $5 Billion—And Climbing (Forbes)

Cuomo: New York Down To 400 Coronavirus Hospitalizations Per Day (Forbes)

Cuomo: Five New York Regions To Begin Reopening Today (Forbes)

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