Los Angeles County is expected to extend its stay-at-home order through at least July due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday.
The county’s public health director, Barbara Ferrer, said Tuesday at a Board of Supervisors meeting that it likely will be slow going in its bid to loosen the rules.
Eleven major sports programs play in Los Angeles County: UCLA and USC, the Chargers, Clippers, Dodgers, Galaxy, Kings, Los Angeles FC, Lakers, Rams and Sparks.
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game is scheduled to be played at Dodger Stadium on July 14.
Ferrer said “dramatic change to the virus and tools at hand” would be needed to lift the order before August.
So what does that mean for sports teams in the second largest market in the United States?
Major League Baseball owners reportedly approved a proposal that commissioner Rob Manfred planned to present to players Tuesday that aims to have the sport in home stadiums by early July.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said during a media conference Monday that he expressed his concerns to Manfred as well.
“He said, ‘We won’t do anything that’s not consistent with state guidelines,'” Newsom said. “We certainly look forward to Major League Baseball and all sports resuming, but again, the question is when. And that will be determined on the basis of public health and public safety and the spread of this virus.”
The season was scheduled to start March 26 but was put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.
SoFi Stadium, which is the new home of the Rams and Chargers, is under construction in Los Angeles County. The Rams are slated to practice in Ventura County, while the Chargers’ training camp will be held in Orange County.
The NFL season is slated to start on Sept. 10, but there are built-in contingency plans if things must be pushed back.
The Lakers were in discussions with the city mayor’s office about the possibility of gaining access to the team facility. The team facility, UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, has been closed for nearly a month and a half.
Two Lakers players tested positive for COVID-19 in the days after the league shut down on March 11.
–Field Level Media
