Coronavirus: Mariners aim to relocate opening home games of regular MLB season
- After large group events in Seattle were banned, the Seattle Mariners are hoping to relocate their opening two home games of the season.
![Mariners - cropped](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 800 450"></svg>)
Seattle Mariners are hoping to relocate their opening home games of the Major League Baseball regular season.
As fears over the spread of coronavirus continue to grow across the globe, Washington governor Jay Inslee announced on Wednesday that large group events would be banned in the state throughout March.
This has placed the Mariners first two home matches of the campaign – against the Texas Rangers and the Minnesota Twins – into doubt, with both games scheduled to take place in the final week of the month.
However, the Mariners have confirmed they are working alongside MLB to come up with alternative locations for the contests to take place.
Statement from the Seattle Mariners on Governor Jay Inslee's community strategies to combat the spread of COVID19.https://t.co/hLUAuzPKcB pic.twitter.com/OnbmBESxJo
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) March 11, 2020
"While we hope to be back to playing baseball in Seattle as soon as possible, the health and safety of our community is the most important consideration," a statement on their official website read.
On Wednesday, the mayor of San Francisco – London Breed – announced any gatherings of 1,000 or more people would be prohibited for the next two weeks, with the San Francisco Giants subsequently confirming the cancellation of a planned exhibition match against the Oakland Athletics at Oracle Park on March 24.
The spread of coronavirus has now been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation, with just under 700 confirmed cases in the United States.
Published 12 Mar 2020, 01:16 IST