Cuomo reiterates offer to help return of sports
Andrew Cuomo continued to root for sports to come back to New York during the coronavirus pandemic — so long as the numbers add up.
“[Sports leagues] have to make their own economic decision” on a return, which the governor acknowledged would be without fans in attendance during his Tuesday press briefing.
“I'm very aggressive on encouraging sports teams to start and to operate without fans. This is more an economic calculus for different sports — some sports franchises can make this work easier than others.”
No fans means a significant hit to revenue, so the governor encouraged pro sports to relaunch when “the economic model works for them.“
“They have to make that decision, but any way we can help, we would help,” Cuomo said sharing his hopes for filling up stadiums soon.
Major League Baseball appears to be the closest among major American sports leagues to starting or resuming play — which Cuomo has acknowledged in recent months — but MLB officials have been adamant about their potential financial losses, both during their ongoing relaunch negotiations with the union and in public comments.
Though the MLB and the MLB Players Association agreed to a paycut in March that would advance a portion of their salaries and pro-rate their contracts based on games that remained on the schedule, an AP report learned that the league told its players the existing deal would produce a net loss of $640,000 per game.
Meanwhile, league commissioner Rob Manfred told CNN that without a 2020 season, “the losses for the owners could approach $4 billion.”
The union is skeptical of how MLB presents its financial situation. A Baseball Prospectus study identified notable differences in the league's account to the players with public estimates of the league's money. One example: MLB claimed operating incomes of around $250 million in 2019, while Forbes reported $1.5 billion the same year — over six times as high.
Even less discussed during Cuomo's pandemic presser were some of the emerging safety concerns with a sports return — many of which were summarized in an ESPN investigation on baseball's relaunch plan.
According to the report, MLB has yet to discuss its relaunch plans with public health officials in any of the cities or counties that host big-league teams, while their plans to test their personnel three days a week ups the odds of transmission.
Regardless, Cuomo insists that a return is “in the best interest of all the people and in the best interest of the state of New York.”
“We're a ready, willing and able partner. Remember, government rules right now could stop a team from coming back. What's essential? What's not essential? I'm saying the state will work with them to come back.”
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy spoke to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday. Neither commented on the call, but Murphy was asked earlier in the day about the return of sports.
'“We've got no update on sports . ... I want to remind everybody that the NFL is still trying to figure it out. There's no Major League Baseball right now. There' no Major League Soccer. There's no NWSL (National Women's Soccer League), there's no hockey, there's no NBA, in addition to high school rec and other sports. This is at all levels.”