Newsom Hints Sports Attendance Could Return

Months after the Rose Bowl Game was moved to Texas, outdoor stadiums appear to be on the verge of reopening to fans.

On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state is in “advanced conversations” with Major League Baseball and local health authorities around California. Newsom expressed confidence that if COVID-19 trends continue downward, fans will be back in the seats of outdoor stadiums when baseball season begins.

“We will socialize those conversations very, very shortly. We’re working on the final details,” Newsom said during a visit to Long Beach. “We’ve been working very closely with Major League Baseball, others across the spectrum, working with local health officers, and we’ll be updating those guidelines as well.”

Fans have been barred from attending sporting events since the pandemic began, with the state so unwilling to budge on the restriction that the Rose Bowl Game was moved out of Pasadena to Texas, costing the city and the region millions of dollars.

Newsom noted the downward trend of COVID-19 testing-positivity rates, along with a 43% drop in hospitalizations due to COVID over the past two weeks and a 42% drop in ICU hospitalizations.

“We are stabilizing,” he said. “… We have confidence that when you think forward, look forward to April opening day, where we are likely to be if we all do our job, if we all do our job and we don’t let down our guard and spike the ball — wrong sport, but you get the point. Then I have all the confidence in the world fans will be back safely in a lot of those outdoor venues”

Newsom didn’t offer any details on the nature of conversations regarding a return to sports attendance, only indicating that an announcement was forthcoming.