Coronavirus concerns rising

and Southeastern Conference, begin their men’s tournaments this week at large arenas in major cities.

The NCAA men’s and women’s D-I tournaments begin next week. The NCAA responded quickly to the Ivy League’s announcement, saying it planned to play its games at the scheduled sites with no adjustments to fan access, but is monitoring the situation.

“NCAA member schools and conferences make their own decisions regarding regular season and conference tournament play,” NCAA president Mark Emmert said Tuesday in a statement. “... We will make decisions on our events based on the best, most current public health guidance available.”

A few hours later, after the governor of Ohio announced his recommendation for all high school college and professional teams to play without spectators in attendance, the NCAA released another brief, less definitive statement.

“We are consulting with public health officials and our COVID-19 advisory panel, ... and will make decisions in the coming days,” the NCAA said.

The first four games of the NCAA men’s tournament are scheduled to be played in Dayton, Ohio, and first and second-round games are scheduled for Cleveland on March 20 and 22.

Scores of top-tier soccer games in Europe will all be played in empty stadiums in coming days and weeks.

■ The NHL was also assessing the impact of a decision by Santa Clara County health officials in California to ban gatherings of more than 1,000 people in response to the spread of the virus. The Sharks have games scheduled for March 19, 21 and 29.

■ The NBA told teams last week to prepare for the possibility of playing games in empty arenas, which Lakers star LeBron James initially said he wanted no part of and wouldn’t play, but said Tuesday he would do whatever the NBA tells teams to do.

■ Champions League soccer matches are also being affected, with several highprofile contests to be played without fans.

■ Members of Arsenal’s playing squad went into self-isolation in a precautionary move, forcing the immediate postponement of the club’s Premier League game at Manchester City on Wednesday. Arsenal players came into contact with Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis after a Europa League match on Feb. 27. Marinakis announced Tuesday that he had contracted COVID-19.

■ One of the year’s biggest tennis tournaments, at Indian Wells in California, was canceled this week.