There is a real possibility that next season could start in the NBA and it still won’t be feasible to play in front of an arena full of fans. As a result, the league is looking into alternatives.
Commissioner Adam Silver prepared players for games without fans into the 2020-21 season on last week’s conference call, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. He did, however, float the possibility that games could be played in front of limited crowds.
“It sucks, but it just may be our reality for a while,” Silver told the players. “It may be that … there’ll be a point we can bring a portion of our fans back where they sit every other seat or every third seat.
“…Assuming a vaccine isn’t coming any time soon, are there things we can do in our arenas where maybe we can’t have 19,000 people, but maybe we can have 5,000 people? Maybe we can have 8,000 people? Maybe there are protocols allowing for it?”
It’s clear that the NBA would like to play in front of fans as soon as possible, even if it’s a decreased capacity. Some of those reasons are definitely financial, but having fans in the building improves the atmosphere for everyone involved. Expect other leagues to try to explore similar ways to get even a few fans in buildings as soon as possible, though it’s still not clear if it will even be feasible.
