NYC mayor Bill de Blasio: Coronavirus could keep fans from Yankee Stadium for months

[BigDisneyFan]

Posted: 4/15/20 at 7:25pm

Huh, I see another thread about "When Will You Return?" Is the question when will be able?  NYC mayor Bill de Blasio: Coronavirus could keep fans from Yankee Stadium for months

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/15/20 at 7:36pm

I don't foresee any sporting events being played with fans this year. I do hope there are some sports that are able to be played in neutral sites without fans by August/September.

[BigDisneyFan]

Posted: 4/15/20 at 7:39pm

Sorry I posted this about Broadway shows.  Like can Broadway shut down for MONTHS?

[Robbie2]

Posted: 4/15/20 at 8:13pm

BigDisneyFan said: "Sorry I posted this about Broadway shows. Like can Broadway shut down for MONTHS?"

yes BWAY can and will be shut downs for many many months and probably not open till after Labor Day...

[kaykordeath]

Posted: 4/15/20 at 8:52pm

BigDisneyFan said: "Sorry I posted this about Broadway shows. Like can Broadway shut down for MONTHS?"

At this point...it's going to have to.

[Andy51]

Posted: 4/15/20 at 9:08pm

LA's mayor, Eric Garcetti, is now saying LA may not authorize events involving large gatherings (like concerts, sporting events, and possibly even movie premieres) until 2021:  https://deadline.com/2020/04/l-a-mayor-eric-garcetti-confirms-big-events-may-be-banned-until-2021-1202909414/.   

This seems like a sensible assessment, especially in light of the suggestion made by a number of leading public health experts that it is unlikely that large gatherings can safely resume before Fall 2021.  

Updated On: 4/15/20 at 09:08 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/15/20 at 9:42pm

Yeah, that makes sense. Everything else will open long before stadiums, arenas, and theaters.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 4/15/20 at 10:58pm

Once again, the Mayor of NYC is showing he is an idiot. Really Mr. Mayor, baseball teams are going to pay their players salaries for playing the games but get no revenue from ticket sales, (they will have to give refunds to season ticket holders who have already paid for the season) concessions, parking etc. - yeah right. The teams already receive money from TV and will probably have to give the networks a refund because they will not play a full season so that will not help the owners. I understand people have no sympathy for billionaire owners but they are not stupid and going to take such a loss in revenue.

In addition, playing before no fans would be awful for the players. Players feed off the energy of the crowd and having no fans take away some of the home field advantage. Why do actors love doing Broadway? Simply they love and need the reaction of an audience. Maybe it is me but I would rather have no season at all than games with no fans in the stands.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 4/15/20 at 11:02pm

Yankee Stadium's capacity is 28 times larger than the biggest Broadway house (The Gershwin). It's going to be out of commission for a lot longer than the theatres.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/15/20 at 11:39pm

Not necessarily, I am sure any places that have more than a 500 person capacity will not be opening for a long time. 

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 4/15/20 at 11:39pm

Everything, even from leaders, is speculation. Sure, they have the authority to make decisions but we don't know for sure how fast we'll have things in place that can help reduce the social distancing. Most accept that a vaccine is 12-18 months away but then there was a credible report saying it could be ready by fall for emergency workers if all goes well.

The headline that was out yesterday talked about the possible need for social distancing until 2022. But if you read the article, it said that if there was therapeutic drugs, a vaccine, aggressive testing and contact tracing, the social distancing may not be necessary.... well duh... but the headline made it sound a lot worse than that.

Everything is speculation. Some have more informed speculation than others. But it's still speculation.

Updated On: 4/15/20 at 11:39 PM

[broadfan327]

Posted: 4/15/20 at 11:41pm

It will not be up to the billionaire owners whether or not fans can attend events.  The players I imagine would rather take pay cuts rather than not play at all, they are all not millionaires.  If you think life is going to go back to normal soon where everyone is going to pack in bars all over the city nightly and cram into subway trains and complain about the traffic, I unfortunately don't share the same optimism.  The government is going to focus on reopening vital industries first.  Large gatherings are going to be last on the list.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 11:25am

" It will not be up to the billionaire owners whether or not fans can attend events.  The players I imagine would rather take pay cuts rather than not play at all, they are all not millionaires.  "

Players taking pay cuts would not make up for owners loss of revenue. Let's take the NY Yankees since they are the biggest team in NY. Last year they drew over 3 million people to the ball park, the average ticket price for a game was $100. That is over 300 million dollars and that is not counting money from concessions and parking fees. Have you been to a ballgame lately? A beer will cost you over $10 and a hot dog is at least $5. I don't have the exact figure but the Yankee player payroll for last year was around 200 million. This does not include the front office and other employees and in addition their minor league teams. So if DeBlasio and other Mayors say fans can't attend games, there will probably be no baseball because I doubt owners can survive on just TV revenue even with cutting player salaries.

Updated On: 4/16/20 at 11:25 AM

[RWPrincess]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 2:49pm

I'm fine with baseball being played at a neutral site like Arizona. This has been the speculated location for all teams. I think bringing back the sport is more important right now than having fans in the stands.

As for Broadway, I do think it will reopen this year with a lot of restrictions for health and social distancing. 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 4:11pm

Mayor Big Bird doesn't care as he is a Red Sox fan

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 4:33pm

God, no wonder he's such a loser. 

[Andy51]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 8:36pm

RWPrincess said: As for Broadway, I do think it will reopen this year with a lot of restrictions for health and social distancing.

And what do you think that would look like?  I mean, 6 feet of distance between persons to one's left, one's right, in front of one, and behind one would entail a whole lot of empty seats.  I don't see there being an approach that is both safe and economically viable before sometime in 2021.

 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 8:42pm

I’ve said before when they do open I think temps will be taken upon entry and either every other row in use or some sort of staggered seating will be implemented.

[Andy51]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 8:57pm

Jordan Catalano said: "I’ve said before when they do open I think temps will be taken upon entry and either every other row in use or some sort of staggered seating will be implemented."

I agree that these would be necessary measures, but I don't think they are sufficient for safely reopening theaters.  Taking temps is of limited probative value, given variations in the symptoms that present (and that in many don't present at all).  And the staggering that would meet the basic safety standards for social distancing (i.e., 6 feet between people) would almost certainly not be compatible with the attendance numbers required for a show to be economically viable.  

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 9:37pm

Well that’s what will most probably be done before people can get on an airplane so I’m guessing sitting “near” someone for a couple hours either in a theater or a plane will have some sort of similar guidelines.

[saxpower]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 9:53pm

"Yankee Stadium's capacity is 28 times larger than the biggest Broadway house (The Gershwin). It's going to be out of commission for a lot longer than the theatres."

 "Not necessarily, I am sure any places that have more than a 500 person capacity will not be opening for a long time."

       Still, something like Yankee Stadium (roughly 55K seats) are going to open much later than something like the B'Way theatres (roughly 600-2000 seats).  Also, (putting aside things described in the "Bad Audience Behavior" thread), people are not eating hot dogs and drinking beers in their seats at a Broadway show (conceivably, they could temporarily stop bar service as a condition of reopening).  Doing all that is part of the Baseball/football/hockey/basketball/etc experience. 

   One issue on the MLB players pay- remember, they have a very powerful union.  It would not surprise me if the MLB players contract require them to be paid even if the games are not being played.   I believe they get paid if they get hurt, which to my understanding does not happen with actors. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 9:57pm

I can also see them asking audiences to only clap and not be vocal in any way. That’s one difference between the theater and say a sporting event where everyone is talking, shouting etc with their mouths constantly open.

[Andy51]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 10:03pm

Jordan Catalano said: "Well that’s what will most probably be done before people can get on an airplane so I’m guessing sitting “near” someone for a couple hours either in a theater or a plane will have some sort of similar guidelines."

Yeah, though for the same reasons I've cited, I don't see plane travel being safe for quite a while either.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 4/16/20 at 10:49pm

Jordan Catalano said: "I can also see them asking audiences to only clap and not be vocal in any way. That’s one difference between the theater and say a sporting event where everyone is talking, shouting etc with their mouths constantly open. "

If they did that, I don’t know how they’d enforce it. Are you expected to go to a comedy and not laugh?

[theatreguy12]

Posted: 4/17/20 at 3:28am

When I saw the title to this thread, my first thought was, ‘Wow, mayor. Ya think?’

The city hit the hardest by this virus, and its mayor is stating the obvious. And has already been acknowledged by other cities long ago.