NBA considering Las Vegas to host remainder of the 2019-2020 season

The "at-least 30 days" suspension of NBA games that started on March 11 has no end in sight. League officials are looking for alternatives on how to finish the 2019-2020 season. Las Vegas is a top contender as a venue to play all the remaining games.

The NBA announced last week its plans of having a centralised location for players, coaches, and essential staff to co-locate and play empty arena games. It would protect the teams and the country as a whole from the "super-spreader" nature of NBA teams which could carry the coronavirus. It would also allow the league to salvage broadcasting income to help alleviate the financial damage from the game suspensions.

The CDC defines super-spreaders as individuals who travel a lot and meet a significant number of people at any given week. NBA teams travel to different cities to play games in arenas packed with tens of thousands of people. Teams play an average of 2-3 games a week. On scheduled road trips, one team can play in 2-3 different US cities in a span of seven or eight days.

The first NBA player confirmed to be infected by the coronavirus, Rudy Gobert, is a Utah Jazz player. The test was administered in Oklahoma City before their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on the night of March 10th. The game was suspended before tip-off, and the Oklahoma Health Department acted swiftly to protect the city. All NBA games were postponed until further notice the next day.

A week before the suspension, the league told NBA teams to prepare for the possibility of playing empty-arena games to protect the general public from the coronavirus. According to MSN.com, the league is seriously considering moving forward with the plan to play in a centralized location to eliminate the need for NBA teams to travel to play games.

Las Vegas, a city in the State of Nevada, is not represented by any NBA team. It is a neutral ground and has the facilities for 30 NBA teams to play games, train, and rest. It also has nationwide broadcasting capabilities and has trained personnel to support the NBA teams, sports media, and essential staff necessary to conduct games.