After a mostly successfull Bubbleville, Mohegan Sun takes stock, could host more college hoops.
After Bubbleville, Mohegan Sun takes stock, remains available to host college hoops matchups
The Mohegan Sun bubble provided a place for college basketball to get a season started and play a chunk of nonconference games.
And for the first 10 of its 11 days, it was considered a rousing success, coaches offering “rave reviews,” UConn’s Dan Hurley said, about how well things were run and how safe teams felt. In fact, Villanova twice postponed plans to leave, and stayed to play games against Virginia Tech and UHart.
Only the final game was canceled, and there was only one positive test recorded between Nov. 25 and the end.
“The testing protocols were as good as could be expected,” said Dave Martinelli, chief marketing officer at Mohegan Sun and one of the architects of Bubbleville, “but not 100 percent. Without quarantining for a full 14 days, there is no way to know and be 100 percent certain.”
The venue could be available for more games later, perhaps with one conference, such as the Big East. A safer bubble, closer to the NBA/WNBAmodel of last summer, could be created by teams arriving early and quarantining for a long enough period, without newteams checking in midstream, as was the case with Bubbleville.
“People that stay longer make it safer,” Martinelli said. “There is less and less of a chance of something occurring for them. I think that’s why Villanova stayed so long.”
UConn and N.C. State both tested negative before traveling, arrived last Wednesday at about 5 p.m. and were tested. Nasal PCR test results the next day were all negative for both teams, and they played on Thursday, N.C. State defeating UMass Lowell and UConn beating Southern California. Both teams had saliva PCR testing Friday morning, and practiced later in the day. The N.C. State positive was revealed Friday night, and the Wolfpack traveling party was isolated until departing Saturday morning.
UConn also returned to campus Saturday. Apositive test was reported within the Huskies program on Sunday evening, causing a suspension of play.
The virus has an incubation period of several days, so it’s possible, perhaps probable that both the UConn and N.C. State infections were contracted before they checked in at Mohegan Sun, though there is no way of ascertaining that.
“Given how the virus works,” Martinelli said, “testing that follows the local and CDC guidelines, testing someone within three days before they come, and when they arrive, will work, but aren’t perfect.”
The Mohegan Sun brought 25 teams onto the property and played 26 games in 10 days. Teams remained limited to their floor in the hotel and moved to the arena through restricted corridors without contact with the public in the casino. The staff serving meals were separated by plexiglass, and all staff on the property was subject to testing.
Of more than 2,800 tests administered, there were four positives, with three coming before teams arrived. In the bubble environment, N.C. State was the only positive. UMass Lowell, having played N.C. State, paused and canceled its scheduled game against Bryant out of an abundance of caution. Southern Cal returned home and has a game scheduled for Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
“Given the climate we had, it’s definitely a great accomplishment for our team and we’re proud of the efforts we did,” Martinelli said. “We would have loved to have gotten in the last game on Saturday. Not the outcome wewanted, but it is what it is.”
If a conference, such as the Big East, wants to try a bubble period in the Mohegan Sun, the property is willing to discuss it. There have been nodiscussions yet regarding a regular season bubble, but the Big East is planning for its women’sconference tournament at Mohegan Sun in March.