Bucks to play sans fans as COVID thwack US

Article posted by Coliseum, November 25^th, 2020

Image: NBA

With COVID-19 infections reaching new heights in the United States, the American professional basketball team Milwaukee Bucks games at their residence Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, US, for the 2020-21 seasons will be held without onlookers until further notice.

A statement in the National Basketball Association (NBA) website stated that the above decision has been taken in keeping with State and local guidelines. The organization has accorded topmost priority to the health and safety of fans, players, coaches, and team and arena staff.

The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and play at the 17,341-capacity Fiserv Forum.

The statement further read that the Bucks will continue to work with State and local health officials, as well as the NBA, to evaluate a potential return for fans in some capacity later this season. While the Bucks’ season schedule has yet to be announced, the NBA season is all set to begin on December 22^nd.

The team is presently working on a plan to have fans in the arena at some point this season – “When we are able to do that it’s going to be because the league has approved our plan and the City has approved our plan,” Bucks Senior Vice-President, Ticket Sales, Jamie Morningstar, informed.

Morningstar said the Bucks will reach out to season ticket holders soon. The team plans to reserve a quarter of all available seats for season ticket holders.

She added, “We’re going off of the assumption that when we can bring fans back we probably won’t be able to bring it at a full manifest. We won’t be able to have everyone in the building.”

The National Basketball Association is an American men’s professional basketball league. It is composed of 30 teams and is one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. It is the premier men’s professional basketball league in the world.

The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) said the ‘without fans’ news translates into the fact that hundreds of workers will be out of job the whole period till fans are not let in.

“From greeting people, to hospitality workers, the ticket takers, the concession people, the security people…those folks are put in limbo,” stated a concerned MMAC Senior Vice-President Steve Baas.

Destination marketing organization ‘Visit Milwaukee’ said any period of time sans fans is a huge blow to already struggling nearby businesses.

“It’s devastating for the deer district, for all of our restaurants and bars,” Visit Milwaukee CEO Peggy Williams-Smith lamented.

One of the hottest new areas in Milwaukee to eat, drink, and play is the Deer District. Built on the 30 acres surrounding Fiserv Forum, the new home of the Milwaukee Bucks, this neighborhood is filled with restaurants, entertainment, events, and more.

The Bucks are still working on their logistical plans for fans, if they receive the thumbs-up for the same.

Morningstar continued, “There’s obviously mask guidelines. Six foot social distance. There are different preparations for how food and beverage may look, and how that would translate into an experience for a guest in the building.”

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