NBA Teams Reportedly Concerned Fans Won't Be Able to Attend Games in 2020-21

With those around the league resigned to the idea the current season would have to happen behind closed doors, there's a growing worry the 2020-21 NBA season may have to tip off without fans in arenas. 

During an appearance on SportsCenter, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic could linger well beyond the NBA's current campaign.

"The greater concern, will there be fans in the arenas next season?" Wojnarowski said. "That is the concern among teams about not this season, but can they be certain that at any point next season that they will be able to put fans in public arenas? That's a bigger question than this summer."

It's unclear whether the NBA can return this summer in time to wrap up the 2019-20 campaign.

Some states are beginning to relax restrictions regarding the businesses that are allowed to operate during the pandemic.

As a result, the NBA issued a statement Monday outlining what would be a gradual return of limited workouts for players:

"The potential rules changes would allow teams to make their practice facilities available for use by the team's players for workouts or treatment on a voluntary, individual basis if the team's facility is in a city that is no longer subject to a government restriction. For any team that, due to a government restriction, is prohibited from making its facility available for use by the team's players, the league will work with the team to identify alternatives."

The new guidelines won't go into effect until May 8 at the earliest.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium provided more on what would be required of players and team personnel:

While getting players back to practice would be a positive step, Wojnarowski's report underscores how long it could take before things are fully back to normal.

Zeke Emanuel, the vice provost for global initiatives and director of the Healthcare Transformation Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, speculated in a panel discussion with the New York Times Magazine that major public events could be off the table for well over a year:

"Certain kinds of construction, or manufacturing or offices, in which you can maintain six-foot distances are more reasonable to start sooner. Larger gatherings — conferences, concerts, sporting events — when people say they're going to reschedule this conference or graduation event for October 2020, I have no idea how they think that's a plausible possibility. I think those things will be the last to return. Realistically we're talking fall 2021 at the earliest."

Under that timetable, the entire 2020-21 season would happen without any fans.

Don Barnum, an architect with DLR Group, told CNBC's Jabari Young that teams could alter stadium layouts to adhere to social distancing guidelines. One idea is to seat fans in small groups throughout the arena, where six feet would separate a group of four seats on all sides.

The 2020 NFL draft set viewership records over the weekend, partially indicative of how much people are desperate to see sports again.

That would almost certainly carry over to the return of games themselves. But fans should grow used to the idea that television and online streaming may be the only avenues through which to consume sports for the foreseeable future.