Donald Trump says initial return of sports will be 'made for television'

Tom Gatto

Donald Trump says initial return of sports will be 'made for television' image

President Donald Trump said Thursday that sports will likely resume at first in empty stadiums — "(like) the good old days, made for television." Then will come partially filled venues with fans observing social distancing, and then finally full stadiums and arenas.

Trump did not indicate when games would resume, however. All the major North American professional leagues have halted play amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and individual states' stay-at-home and social distancing orders remain in place.

The White House's point person on the coronavirus response, Dr. Anthony Fauci, laid out a possible scenario for a restart Wednesday, saying in a Snapchat interview that a sport's entire schedule could be played in one venue with no spectators. Athletes would need to be tested for the virus frequently.

MORE: Trump tired of watching baseball games that are '14 years old' 

Fauci was more circumspect during Thursday's daily White House coronavirus press briefing, but he did say there was a path to getting sports back in action, in some form, within the parameters of a three-phase set of federal guidelines for states to reopen that was released Thursday.

Leagues have been exploring restarts in empty venues and in neutral sites. MLB, for example, is considering playing at spring training complexes in Arizona and Florida. 

Trump has tapped high-profile team owners such as Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft and Mark Cuban to be part of an advisory committee on getting U.S. economic activity restarted. The president is also speaking regularly with league commissioners, most recently on Wednesday.

Commissioners of the FBS conferences in college football spoke with Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday. CBSSports.com reported that the commissioners told Pence that games won't resume until students can return to campuses.

Trump on Thursday referred to Alabama football when asked about what "normal" will look like in a post-coronavirus sports world.

Bryant-Denny Stadium's listed seating capacity is 101,821.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.