'Happiest place on earth' for NBA

LOS ANGELES • The National Basketball Association (NBA) is looking at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, as a possible playing site should the season resume, according to sports website The Athletic on Wednesday.

The report came hours after Dr Anthony Fauci, the top American infectious diseases specialist who is helping to coordinate the US response to the coronavirus pandemic, told the New York Times some professional sports leagues may have to "bite the bullet".

Suggesting that the cancellation of current campaigns was a real possibility, he said: "I would love to be able to have all sports back. But as a health official and a physician and a scientist, I have to say, right now, when you look at the country, we're not ready for that yet.

"Safety, for the players and for the fans, trumps everything. If you can't guarantee safety, then unfortunately, you're going to have to say, 'We may have to go without this sport for this season'."

But the NBA is not ready to give up on the season just yet without exploring every possible alternative.

While the league remains shrouded in doubt, officials have been working behind the scenes to salvage the campaign, which has been suspended since March 11.

It was previously reported that NBA executives had discussed the idea of teams attempting to play all remaining games in an isolated, central location, with Las Vegas and the Bahamas having been floated as possible live-in sites.

The Disney World idea does, however, make more sense than the other options as it is ready to be used. Not only does it have multiple courts and hotels, but the resort is already fit for broadcast, is a secure private property that can limit access to approved personnel only and is also just a short drive to facilities owned by the Orlando Magic, CBS Sports says.

The NBA has even gotten approval from Disney to use the site.

But there remains a huge obstacle before the league can consider a resumption date.

According to USA Today, the league needs to perform thousands of Covid-19 tests on a regular basis - a demand that is not feasible at the moment, given the strain the US healthcare system is already under - so the general population testing capacity must be significantly scaled up.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver had a conference call on Wednesday with the league's 30 general managers and a league doctor to discuss "some positive developments" regarding potential treatments for Covid-19 and a vaccine trial in England.

The experimental drug remdesivir has shown positive results with infected patients in a recent study, and the University of Oxford on Tuesday announced six monkeys had been prevented from contracting Covid-19 at a lab in Montana despite getting heavy quantities of the virus.

A human trial is now under way, although a clinically tested vaccine that can be pushed out to the masses will not be ready for another 12-18 months at the earliest.

The NBA will also soon unveil rule changes that will allow teams to open their practice facilities for players to take part in treatment and limited workouts, so long as the city in which the facility is located permits it.

Numerous restrictions, including safe distancing measures, will, however, still be in place.

There is no set date for when the facilities can open.

The league has advised teams it is targeting no earlier than next Friday as the commencement date for the new rules, and that it may push this timing back if "developments warrant".

REUTERS