Golden State Warriors to play games in empty Chase Center

In a likely sign of things to come in the National Basketball Association and the rest of North American sports, the Golden State Warriors became the first professional sports team to announce that they will be playing games behind closed doors, with no fans in attendance, for the foreseeable future.

The San Francisco Health Office declared a ban on gatherings in the city of more than 1,000 people and the Warriors are complying with that mandate from the city. The Warriors game on Thursday night against the Brooklyn Nets, which is also Kevin Durant’s first appearance in the Bay Area since suffering a torn Achilles in last season’s NBA finals, will be the first NBA game to be played without fans. The Warriors are offering refunds to all fans who had tickets.

All events at Chase Center through March 21 will be cancelled or postponed at this time. We'll continue to monitor this evolving situation closely to determine best steps. We appreciate the understanding and patience of our fans, guests and partners.https://t.co/siFLC4Unjq

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 11, 2020

LeBron’s home state of Ohio looks like it will be next on mandating limits on gatherings of more than 1,000 people.

At a minimum, what we said yesterday about mass gatherings will become an order. #COVID19

— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) March 11, 2020

The United States is seeing the effects of the novel coronavirus spreading and the NBA is one of the many professional sports leagues trying to figure out how the games can go on if they can go on at all.