NBA plans to resume season using isolated, empty venues

The NBA is re-exploring the idea of resuming the season by playing in empty arenas. This time, they are looking into venues, even non-NBA cities, where all teams could sleep, train, and play games in a single location.

According to RealGM.com, there are suggestions such as Las Vegas, the Bahamas, and even a college campus in the Midwest, as possible locations to restart the league.

Prior to its suspension on March 11, the league already circulated a memorandum to team owners asking them to prepare for the possibility of empty arena games. Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was critical about the memo and claims that it is not worth playing games without fans.

However, that statement was made before the season suspension, and the confirmation that at least two Los Angeles Lakers players have the novel coronavirus. The State of California, the home state of the Lakers and three other NBA teams, is now in lockdown. California is the most populous state in the USA.

With the financial crisis plaguing the league due to the suspension, it is now willing to explore all possibilities to continue and finish the 2019-2020 season and salvage network broadcasting revenue.

There are also talks about suspending pay for all players in the league. Some members of the association, such as low-level staff, arena workers, and part-timers that rely on games for income, are hardest hit by the hiatus. Resuming games is now a priority, even if exceptional circumstances are required to do it.

NBA team owners, players, and even retired players have donated millions to help ease the burden caused by the suspension.

The new plan calls for all teams to be isolated in a single location and continue to play on a revised schedule. There will no longer be a need for NBA teams to travel, minimizing the risk of exposure.

Broadcast revenue is expected to be higher than usual with large parts of the USA and the world in lockdown. However, income aside, it is also crucial for the league to crown a champion and give closure to the challenging 2019-2020 season that has seen the death of former commissioner David Stern, superstar Kobe Bryant, and now the suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic.