Arizona governor Doug Ducey has come out strongly in support of the MLB’s plan to start their season in empty spring training ballparks.
For a whole host of good reasons, the MLB has been pondering ways to get baseball’s virus-disrupted season kick-started as soon as possible.
With the end of the Covid-19 pandemic not yet in sight, playing in empty stadiums seems to be the most acceptable plan right now. And Ducey believes Arizona has everything it takes to do this.
- Firstly it has 10 spring training parks as well the Diamondbacks’ Chase Field in the Phoenix Area. If need be, several College ballparks would also be available.
- Secondly the state has ample hotel accommodation around Phoenix to safely house the MBA’s 30 teams.
MLB and the players’ association have discussed starting their season with all 30 major league teams based in the Phoenix area. They found that the facilities on offer were more than adequate.
The plan, however, would be contingent upon receiving the go-ahead from federal and local governments besides the State.
“Arizona, at the right time, is very open-minded to hosting whatever Major League Baseball would like from the state,” Ducey said on Tuesday.
“At the time if it would be appropriate for public health and Arizona were in a position to reopen, we have the facilities,” Ducey confirmed
The Governor said he had spoken to the MLB commissioner Rob Manfred about the all-Arizona option.
“There are a number of different scenarios,” he added. “I think the first scenario that was talked about was the idea of these clubs coming, being in hotels and in a way, having their own stay-at-home orders.
“That could apply at their hotel, or inside the stadium, where there would be TV crews but no fans.
It’s something that Arizona is open-minded about and I’m open-minded too.”
Footnote: Arizona is one of the US’s 50 states with the lowest numbers of positive Covid-19 infections and deaths. To date it has had just 3,806 infections and 131 deaths as opposed to New York’s 202,208 and 10,834.