COVID-19, better known as coronavirus, has been the No. 1 news story for quite some time as its effects are widespread and have even stopped most major sports leagues.
While the NFL has not shut down yet, it has suspended all public events surrounding the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft in Las Vegas. The draft is scheduled to go on as planned, however, just not as a live event. Of course, the Las Vegas Raiders were the de facto hosts for all of those events and the draft.
The Raiders are also in the midst of building their new stadium and new practice facility in the Las Vegas area. Although things are still proceeding as scheduled, the Raiders and the city received some bad news recently. According to Vic Tafur of The Athletic, one of the construction workers working on Allegiant Stadium tested positive for coronavirus:
A worker that was on-site building the Raiders’ new Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas tested positive for COVID-19, according to a statement issued by the Mortenson-McCarthy construction companies on Wednesday.
The worker was apparently not close to other workers — per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on social distancing — and was sent home, with construction carrying on.
This is one of the first indications that coronavirus may have a larger than expected effect on the NFL season. Of course, no team members have tested positive, but it shows that it could be present in the stadium, putting players and staff potentially at risk.
If social distancing is working, ideally the stadium’s construction crew should be fine. With that in mind, construction will continue as scheduled, per a ruling of the state of Nevada:
The stadium is still expected to be completed by late July, as the state of Nevada considered the construction of it — as well as the team facility in Henderson, Nev. — “essential” and workers didn’t have to stay home during the pandemic.
Of course, there is really no telling how long the regulations on American society and sports will last. Even if the stadium is completed on time, there still could be a chance that the NFL does not kick off as planned this fall.
Although free agency is already underway and many players have signed, many teams are only allowing video and teleconferencing to communicate with free agents. The NFL even imposed sanctions on how teams can communicate electronically with draft prospects. Hopefully everyone working on the Raiders facilities as well as the rest of the world can remain healthy and everything, including sports, can get back on track as soon as possible.
