Seattle teams shut out due to coronavirus
The Seattle Mariners are seeking alternative options for their season-opening series after Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Wednesday a ban on all large gatherings in the three counties of the Seattle metro area because of the virus outSeattle break.
Inslee said social gatherings of 250 or more people, including sporting events, are banned through at least the end of March because of the COVID-19 outbreak in the Seattle area. Officials said gatherings of under 250 could also be barred unless specific measures are followed.
The decision impacts the Mariners’ first seven games of the Major League Baseball season against the Texas Rangers (March 26-29) and Minnesota Twins (March 30April 1), plus home games for the MLS Seattle Sounders, XFL Seattle Dragons and a pair of junior hockey teams in the area.
“We’re working through the alternatives right now,” Mariners owner John Stanton said at the team’s spring training complex in Peoria, Arizona. “We think the alternatives include playing in Seattle in an empty stadium, the alternatives include playing inthehomeparkofouropponents, in this case the Rangers and the Twins. Or playing at a neutral park in Peoria.”
Stanton said he hoped to have an answer on where the team will play the first two series by Friday. He said it’s unlikely the Mariners would play in Seattle at an empty stadium.
“As you can imagine, a lot of this is happening real time. So we’re trying to figure it out as we go,“he said.
Seattle third baseman Kyle Seager said conversations about the virus have dominated the clubhouse over the past few days. He added players would like some sort of resolution to the team’s playing situation as soon as possible, but that everyone’s health was most important.
“This is a major, major, major thing,” Seager said. “This is a major event, not only in Seattle, but the world.”
MLB could shift the Rangers-Mariners four-game series to Texas. The Rangers are set to open a retractable-roof stadium this year, and Texas general manager Jon Daniels said this week the park would be ready if need be.
“Everything’s being discussed, all potential contingency plans,“Daniels said at the Rangers’ camp in Surprise, Arizona.
The impact will be less on the Sounders, who had just one home game postponed — March 21 vs. FC Dallas —until April18.
The XFL Seattle Dragons will host Los Angeles on Sunday with no fans permitted in the stadium.
Italy
Europa League matches for Italian teams have been postponed because of travel restrictions. The governing body of European soccer said the games between Sevilla and Roma in Spain, and Inter Milan and Getafe in Italy “will not take place as scheduled.”
“Further decisions on the two matches will be communicated in due course,” UEFA said.
Italian soccer club Roma had said earlier Wednesday it would not make its trip to Seville because “the plane from Italy was not authorized to land in Spain.” Getafe President Angel Torres had said his team would not travel to Italy because he did not want to risk his players’ health by going to an area struggling to contain the spread of the virus.
Italy had already suspended all sporting events until April 3.
Skiing
Less than 24 hours before the first race, the International Ski Federation canceled the women’s Alpine skiing World Cup in Are, Sweden, handing Federica Brignone of Italy the overall title and denying Mikaela Shiffrin a return to racing this season.
Brignone becomes the first Italian women’s overall champion in the 53-year history of the World Cup.
Shiffrin, the defending overall champion, had announced earlier Wednesday that she would compete at the event after taking a sixweek break from the sport following the death of her father. The absence cost her the lead in the overall standings.