Yankee Stadium is empty on the scheduled date for Opening Day March 26, 2020 in the Bronx, New York. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK - With COVID-19 cases in Florida and Arizona reaching record highs, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Saturday that the New York Yankees and New York Mets would train in New York if Major League Baseball and its players try to start the coronavirus-delayed season.
“I think New York now is especially attractive, compared to the other states, because we have such a low transmission rate, and this is a state that is ready, willing and able to partner with sports teams so that they can play,” Cuomo said.
The Yankees originally had intended to base at their spring training complex in Tampa, Florida. The Mets had said they were undecided between Citi Field and their training camp in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Florida at first appeared preferable because the complexes have more fields.
But positive cases for COVID-19 in Florida have increased markedly in recent days, while the percentage of positive tests in New York City has dropped sharply. New York City is set to enter phase two of reopening on Monday, allowing stores and outdoor restaurant seating to reopen with social distancing.
All 30 MLB teams have closed their spring camps in Florida and Arizona this weekend over virus concerns.
MLB had hoped to start the season during the first week of July, but teams and the players' association are engaged in a bitter fight over how to apportion revenue losses caused by the pandemic.
Both sides agree that players need three weeks of training before the increasingly slight season could start.
“To have spring training in New York, that is a really great development," Cuomo said. "It’s where I think they should always be, obviously. But in a bleak time, and in a season that obviously has had significant hurdles to deal with, to have a spring training quick camp in New York, that is the first bit of really good news when it comes to baseball that we’ve had in a long time.”
Cuomo has said both teams can play games at home but without fans. The U.S. Open tennis tournament is scheduled to take place without fans in its usual time frame that starts in late August.
With the Associated Press.