Governor Newsom says pro sports could return to California in June

California governor Gavin Newsom announced Monday professional sports could return to the state — behind closed doors and with enhanced precautionary measures taken throughout — as soon as early June.

Newsom said sports reopening would be allowed as long as coronavirus trends continue to decline in the state.

That certainly sounds good, but before you begin clearing your schedule for the airings (lol) keep in mind this isn’t official approval, the local public health orders may still supercede the state’s recommendations, and there’s the status of the USL Championship season itself.

The most recent national report came out on Monday, with Jeff Rueter reporting at The Athletic the USL had explored the possibility of doing a “biodome” scenario to restart in Tucson, but apparently have decided against it for the time being.

The league has not announced they will cancel the season, but it appears that all scenarios remain on the table for the time being. Since USL club revenues are so closely tied to matchday proceeds, closed-door games may not be enticement enough for clubs to agree to restart the season without fans present.

But, we’ll see. Perhaps with government authorities becoming more amenable to opening up (hopefully safely) perhaps that will tip things in the balance for the USL Championship to restart, and for Sacramento Republic to get back in action. We’ll see what happens, but we’ll keep you posted on developments as we learn them.

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