Florida governor Ron DeSantis became the second state executive in the United States to announce that his state is “open for sports” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic on Wednesday.
In a state government session, DeSantis adamantly defended his opinion that it is safe for sports teams to return to practicing and potentially playing games, effective immediately.
While it remains unclear what effect this move will have on sports actually being played in the state, it opens the door for leagues to potentially implement plans to return to action in either Florida or Arizona, or potentially both, as the latter state’s governor also announced the permission of sports in his state earlier in the week.
The league that could be most attracted to Florida’s call for action is Major League Baseball, which possesses a large network of Spring Training, professional, and minor league stadiums in the state. Previous plans discussed by the league have mentioned the possibility of grouping various teams together in the state of Florida to play games.
Florida is home to four professional major sports teams whose seasons are currently on hold, the MLB’s Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays and the NBA’s Miami Heat and Orlando Magic.
