No fans allowed: NCAA will keep most people out of Sacramento’s basketball tournament

The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will go on next week amid the coronavirus threat, but very few people will be in attendance.

The men’s basketball tournament, which has four first-round games and two second-round March Madness games in Sacramento, will allow only essential staff and limited family members, according to a statement put out by NCAA president Mark Emmert on Wednesday afternoon.

“While I understand how disappointing this is for all fans of our sports, my decision is based on the current understanding of how COVID-19 is progressing in the United States,” Emmert said in the statement. “This decision is in the best interest of public health, including that of coaches, administrators, fans and, most importantly, our student-athletes. We recognize the opportunity to compete in an NCAA national championship is an experience of a lifetime for the students and their families. Today, we will move forward and conduct championships consistent with the current information and will continue to monitor and make adjustments as needed.”

The NCAA’s move comes as major events begin to limit the amount of people in attendance or cancel altogether. The city of San Francisco on Wednesday announced a ban on gatherings over 1,000 people, which includes Golden State Warriors games, for two weeks.

As part of Emmert’s announcement, the NCAA also released a statement from its COVID-19 advisory panel, which recommended the organization restrict entrance to events.

“COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in the United States, and behavioral risk mitigation strategies are the best option for slowing the spread of this disease. This is especially important because mildly symptomatic individuals can transmit COVID-19,” the panel said in a news statement Wednesday.

The NCAA said fans who purchased tickets from an official NCAA vendor or over the phone will get automatic refunds and “no additional action is needed.” It said “applicable fees” will be deducted from refunds.

Mike Testa of Visit Sacramento, the region’s convention and visitors bureau, said the NCAA’s decision will be costly to hotels and other businesses. An estimated 7,600 out-of-town fans were expected to come to Sacramento for the games.

“The impact is significant,” Testa said. “Not only are those people not staying in hotels and going to the games, they’re not eating in restaurants.”

He said the weekend won’t be a total loss, however. The players, coaches, university officials and others who will visit Golden 1 Center will generate 11,000 room night stays, he said.

“There’s still value in hosting this,” Testa said.

The 68-team bracket will be revealed Sunday, but the fan frezny and buildup will be dulled as sporting events across the country and world have increasingly been restricted or canceled entirely. It is a significant blow to the 81-year history of the NCAA Tournament, which Emmert acknowledged in his statement, though a national health crisis must be addressed.

The other first and second rounds of the NCAA men’s tournament will be held in Albany, N.Y.; Spokane, Washington; St. Louis; Tampa; Greensboro, N.C.; Omaha, Nebraska and Cleveland.

The Midwest Regional will be held in Indianapolis, the West Regional in Los Angeles, the South Regional in Houston and the East Regional in New York.

The Final Four and championship game, set for April 4 and 6, are in Atlanta.

Sacramento State is the host school for the Golden 1 event, but Sac State officials were not allowed to discuss the matter. Media has been advised to reach out the NCAA. The NCAA did not immediately return a call or email request for comment.

Sac State athletic director Mark Orr did tell The Bee on Monday that his department was in close contact with the NCAA. He said of the entire situation, “This stuff is all nuts. Everyone is still trying to figure it all out. It’s been all over the map. I know the NCAA is monitoring it. We all are. We’re trying to make sure what’s in the best interest of health and safety. There’s no protocol for this. We’re all listening to experts who are a lot smarter on this stuff than we are. We’re hopeful everything will be OK.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 1:41 PM.