NBA Could Move Games to Cities Not Affected by Coronavirus

The NBA could move games to cities not affected by coronavirus in a bid to preserve the health of players and staff.

The league's board of governors will hold a conference call with the commissioner's office on Wednesday to discuss potential contingency plans to deal with the virus, which causes a disease known as COVID-19.

According to ESPN, the plans include moving NBA games to cities that have not been affected by coronavirus yet.

Should a team be forced out of its home arena for a prolonged period of time, the suggestion of moving games to the away team's arena could be considered, provided the latter team plays in a city not affected by the virus.

The report added that the NBA will hold two further calls on Thursday, one with the presidents of the 30 franchises and one with the general managers.

As of Wednesday morning, over 1,000 cases have been reported in the U.S., with 28 deaths and eight people recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University which has been tracking the outbreak using combined data sources.

Over 4,200 people have died since the outbreak of coronavirus began in Wuhan, a city located in China's central Hubei province, late last year. There are over 119,000 cases globally, with 65,000 recovered.

On Monday, the NBA was one of the four major U.S. leagues to close locker room access to reporters and clubhouses from Tuesday.

In a joint statement released along with the MLB, NHL and MLS, the NBA said the decision had been taken following consultation with medical experts.

While there are no immediate plans to ban fans from attending, in a memo directed to teams last week, the NBA urging teams to consider contingency plans to minimize the number of people congregating in one venue.

The idea of playing games in an empty arenas was rubbished at the weekend by LeBron James.

"I play for the fans, that's what it's all about," the Los Angeles Lakers star said on Friday. "If I show up to the arena and there ain't no fans there, I ain't playing."

The four-time MVP, however, backtracked on Tuesday, suggesting his views had changed as the virus continues to spread quickly across the U.S.

"[The NBA is] saying no one can actually come to the game, if they've decided to go to that point—so I'd be disappointed in that," he told reporters.

"But at the same time, you gotta listen to the people that's keeping track of what's going on. And if they feel like what's best for the safety of the players, safety of the franchise, safety of the league to mandate that, then we all listen to it."

While the major U.S. leagues are yet to play games without fans, the policy has been implemented in a number of European countries.

Games in the Spanish and French soccer leagues will go ahead without fans for the next two weeks, while all sporting events in Italy have been suspended until April 3.

On Tuesday, Valencia's home tie against Atalanta in the Champions League was played behind closed doors and the same will apply to Paris Saint-Germain's game against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.

Next week, Barcelona will also play behind closed doors when it hosts Napoli in the second leg of their round of 16 tie.

England has so far been the only major soccer league in Europe to buck the trend, with games going ahead as usual. However, the game between Manchester City and Arsenal scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed "as a precautionary measure."

The Premier League made the decision after a number of Arsenal players met Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis after their Europa League tie against the Greek side on February 27.

Marinakis revealed earlier this week he had tested positive for the virus and an unspecified number of Arsenal players have since chosen to self-isolate.