MGM’s Proposal Would Allow Sports Leagues to Host Games on the Las Vegas Strip

The resort chain sent a proposal to the NBA and WNBA for playing games on the Las Vegas Strip

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 14:  An exterior view shows MGM Grand & Hotel & Casino as the coronavirus continues to spread across the United States on March 14, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Several employees at MGM Resorts International hotel-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip have tested presumptive positive for COVID-19. MGM Resorts International employees who can will start working from home next week. MGM has closed all nightclubs, dayclubs, buffets, spas, gyms and salons at its properties in Las Vegas and on Monday, it will close 150 food and beverage outlets and furloughs and layoffs will begin. The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus (COVID-19) a global pandemic on March 11th.  (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 14: An exterior view shows MGM Grand & Hotel & Casino as the coronavirus continues to spread across the United States on March 14, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Several employees at MGM Resorts International hotel-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip have tested presumptive positive for COVID-19. MGM Resorts International employees who can will start working from home next week. MGM has closed all nightclubs, dayclubs, buffets, spas, gyms and salons at its properties in Las Vegas and on Monday, it will close 150 food and beverage outlets and furloughs and layoffs will begin. The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus (COVID-19) a global pandemic on March 11th. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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As the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent quarantine continue to rage across the world, one Las Vegas resort chain has reportedly come up with an innovative proposal for sports leagues to resume in relative safety. According to a New York Times report, MGM Resorts International has reached out to at least two leagues with a plan to host games on the Las Vegas strip during quarantine.

The plan was reportedly sent out to the NBA and WNBA and would entail building up to 24 basketball courts at the MGM convention center, allowing teams to televise games and practice while quarantining at the chain’s resorts. Specifically, the players and staff needed to run the games would be housed at three connected hotels: the Delano, the Four Seasons, and the Mandalay Bay.

The New York Times report does state that the plan did not have specific instructions for protecting public health during this time, aside from forcing everyone involved to quarantine within the complex throughout the duration of the plan.

Any person entering the integrated resort would have to go through agreed health, safety and quarantine protocols. [They] would be required to remain in the integrated resort for the entirety of their stay.

So far, no team sport leagues have commented publicly on potential plans to return to action, even in a fan-less setting. UFC and NASCAR both have plans currently to return to action in May, albeit in limited fashion.

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Read the full story at The New York Times

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