As the nation continues to deal with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the professional sports scene has been temporarily put on hold.
Major League Baseball’s Opening Day, originally scheduled for Thursday, was pushed back by a minimum of eight weeks. While play could conceivably resume in the middle of May, many believe June is a more realistic timeline.
The coronavirus outbreak has also led to a slew of additional delays and cancellations in the baseball world. The 2020 National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Classic Weekend events, which would have taken place on May 22-24, were called off.
Renovations at Dodger Stadium are also proceeding at a slower pace. While construction hasn’t come to a halt, there was skepticism that the project would be finished by the end of the month.
Los Angeles Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten recently provided an update on the status of the project, revealing that most of the additions to Dodger Stadium are already completed as the team operates within guidelines set by health organizations, via the team’s YouTube channel:
“All of us have spent the last year and certainly this offseason just waiting for the new additions to the stadium. I’d say all the field-facing stuff like the seating and drink rails and bar and all of that stuff, is ready to go; would’ve been ready to go for our first game Thursday. We still have stuff in the plaza that is being filled in right now. And yes, it has slowed down. Some crews are smaller than others. But we are, and everyone, is fully compliant with all the regulations of the county, the city, and state, as well as the CDC and WHO. All of those things are super important to all of us. Consistent with all of that guidance, the work is continuing.”
With the start of the regular season indefinitely postponed, one could assume there will be enough time to complete the entire project before the Dodgers are ready to take the field again.
The upcoming upgrades to Dodger Stadium were announced last year and paired well with the Dodgers being awarded the 2020 MLB All-Star Game.
While the hope is that the Midsummer Classic can still be played at some point, the possibility of doing away with the contest remains in order to compensate for the lost time and missed regular season games.
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