Sharks To Feel Impact As Santa Clara County Bans Gatherings

Santa Clara County, Calif., has implemented a "mandatory ban on all large gatherings in hopes of containing the spread" of coronavirus. The ban, which will begin overnight at midnight PT and "span at least three weeks," will apply to "any event with more than 1,000 attendees." Events scheduled for this month at SAP Center that will be affected include three Sharks home games and two AHL Barracuda games. It is unclear whether the Sharks "will play their games as scheduled but to an empty arena." County officials said that they "would allow sports teams to play without fans." A team official said that the Sharks "have not made a final decision on how or whether to play" (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 3/10).

The Earthquakes in a statement late last night said that the club "would immediately comply with the county's ban." The franchise has "only one more home date this month," March 21 against Sporting K.C. (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 3/10).