Ban has Bay Area teams in flux

The San Francisco 49ers and other teams may need to find a temporary new home after Santa Clara County has banned all contact sports from holding games and practices for the next three weeks.

County officials issued the new directives on Saturday in response to rising cases of the coronavirus in the area. The rules go into effect on Monday and will remain for three weeks.

The 49ers have home games scheduled for Dec. 7 against Buffalo and Dec. 13 against Washington at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. The team also practices at that site in the county. The team had immediate comment on the new rules.

The rules also will affect the San Jose Sharks of the NHL and college teams at Stanford and San Jose State.

The NHL hasn’t announced a date for the start of training camp, but the Sharks have said they would look into alternate sites if needed.

Stanford and San Jose State also have several sports in season. The Cardinal have one scheduled home football game left on Dec. 12 against Oregon State.

The Spartans have home football games on Dec. 5 against Hawaii and Dec. 11 against Nevada. San Jose State practiced before the season a few hundred miles away at Humboldt State because of restrictions in Santa Clara County.