The Miami Heat are ambitiously planning on having games in front of fans for the 2020-21 season, despite concerns related to the novel coronavirus still in existence.
Heat president Eric Woolworth offered an optimistic outlook on the franchise’s plans for next season during a recent interview.
“We plan on playing next season in front of fans, and plan on having a sold-out facility, just like we’ve had since going back to 2009, for all our games,” Woolworth said in an interview shown during the broadcast of the team’s Tuesday exhibition scrimmage finale.
The NBA suspended the 2019-20 season on March 11 after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert contracted the coronavirus. Several players have tested positive for the dangerous virus since then as well.
As a result, the NBA has been very careful in all of its plans to reopen play. The league is about to embark on the resumption of the 2019-20 campaign in Orlando, Fla.
22 NBA teams have been inside the league’s bubble since early July. No fans will be watching games in person for the remainder of the season.
At this point, there is no official plan for how the NBA hopes to proceed for the 2020-21 season.
“We’re going to keep doing all the things we would do in an offseason. And we’ve been selling tickets right along,” Woolworth said. “And I think it speaks volumes to the amount of interest that people in Miami have in our team, but also in the commitment that we have in the community, and to make sure we do play next year in front of our fans and figure out how to do it safely.”
Woolworth’s comments come across as bold as the state of Florida is seeing surges in coronavirus cases. As a matter of fact, Florida reported a record-high of 216 new COVID-19 related deaths on Wednesday.
While the franchise’s brass prepares for an array of different plans for next season, the organization’s members on the court are preparing for a championship run this season.
The Heat are the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Heat resume their season on Saturday against the Denver Nuggets.