Coronavirus cancellations in Southern California and beyond - sports, theme parks, concerts
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Efforts to contain the coronavirus have resulted in the cancellation, rescheduling or modification of thousands of large public gatherings around the world. Here's a look at major public events in Southern California and beyond from the world of sports, entertainment and business that have been altered because of COVID-19:
Disneyland: The Disneyland resort in Anaheim will close starting Saturday, March 14, lasting through the end of March. Downtown Disney will remain open.
Universal Studios: The theme park in the San Fernando Valley will temporarily close starting Saturday, March 14. The park plans to reopen March 28 as officials continue monitoring the situation. Universal CityWalk will remain open. Guests who have questions about tickets can call the park at 1-800-UNIVERSAL (1-800-864-8377), option #9.
Knott's Berry Farm: The Buena Park theme park will also close beginning Saturday, March 14. The closure is expected to last until the end of March, according to the theme park. Knott's Berry Farm Hotel will remain open.
Six Flags Magic Mountain: Although no coronavirus cases have been reported at the Valencia theme park, it will suspend operations until at least the end of March.
Santa Monica Pier: The Santa Monica Pier will temporarily close to the public starting Monday, March 16. The pier, parking deck and pier businesses will be closed to people and cars. The city said it is monitoring guidelines from the CDC, county health department and the state as to when and how the pier can reopen.
Los Angeles Zoo: The zoo in Griffith Park is closing to the public starting Friday, March 13 and lasting at least through March 31. Zoo employees will continue to work and care for the animals.
Big Bear Resort and Mammoth Mountain: The Alterra Mountain Company announced that it will close all 15 of its U.S. ski resorts, including Big Bear Mountain Resort and Mammoth Mountain, starting Sunday, March 15 until further notice. The move is out of an abundance of caution, though there are no cases of novel coronavirus in Big Bear or San Bernardino County.
Nixon Library: The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda will close to the public starting Friday, March 13 at 5 p.m.until further notice. Events scheduled for the center that were open to the public through March 31 are canceled. Private events that expect less than 250 people will continue as planned. Private events larger than that will be allowed to continue only at the discretion of the client. Tickets purchased online for the library are good for one year from date of purchase.
Reagan Library: The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley is closing indefinitely starting at 5 p.m. Friday, March 13. Events scheduled at the center through March 31 are canceled.
WonderCon: The Anaheim event which is produced by the organizers of Comic-Con San Diego has been postponed for a later date. It had been scheduled for April 10-12.
Comic-Con: Organizers of the massive convention say they are monitoring the situation and have not made any decisions yet to reschedule the event, still slated for July 23-26 in San Diego.
The Superior Court of Los Angeles will start "scaling down" operations starting Monday, March 16 at all 38 courthouses. No new jurors will be summoned for trials for the next 30 days. Judges are given discretion to either continue trials or declare a mistrial. Judges are asked to encourage social distancing by using telephonic court appearances. The court system will remain open for certain services, such as those that fall under legal deadlines and assistance with restraining orders.
Basketball: The NBA announced it is suspending the season until further notice after a player on the Utah Jazz preliminarily tested positive for coronavirus. The result was reported shortly before tip-off to the Jazz- Oklahoma City Thunder game, which was canceled. The affected player was not in the arena. ESPN has identified the player as center Rudy Gobert. The league is determining what steps to take next. More details on the NBA cancellation here.
Soccer: Major League Soccer will suspend its season for 30 days. The league was preparing to play Week 3 of its 2020 schedule this weekend.
Baseball: Major League Baseball has suspended spring training games and will delay the start of the regular season by at least two weeks.
Hockey: The National Hockey League is pausing the season indefinitely as it continues to monitor the situation. League officials noted hockey teams often share arenas with basketball teams, and at least two basketball players have tested positive for coronavirus. The league says it hopes to resume play this season.
XFL: The nascent league is ending its inaugural season. The XFL says players will still be paid base pay and benefits for the 2020 regular seasons. Ticket holders will be issued refunds or credit toward future games.
Boxing/MMA: All combat sports events in California are canceled at least through March 31 by the California State Athletic Commission.
Media access to players: Before they announced they were suspending their seasons, the NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer had announced they were closing access to clubhouses and locker rooms for media and other non-essential personnel to limit the amount of personal contact players have. Players were speaking at podiums or reporters are being roped off to stand a safe distance away when they ask questions. This rule may be moot as many of the leagues are now canceling games altogether.
Fan-less games: Sports leagues in Europe, Asia and the Middle East have already been holding events without fans. Before the NBA suspended its season, it had warned teams to prepare for the possibility of fan-less games. The Golden State Warriors were already planning to take that step, after the San Francisco Health Office issued an order prohibiting gatherings of 1,000 or more people.
March Madness: The NCAA has canceled the men's and women's basketball tournaments this year. The association had initially planned to hold the games without fans, but as the warnings about the pandemic continued to grow, it decided to cancel the tournament altogether.
College sports: The NCAA has also announced the cancellation of winter and spring championships in other sports. In Southern California, schools including UCLA, USC, UC Riverside and UC Irvine have announced that any remaining home games that haven't been canceled will be played without spectators in attendance. Other schools around the country are announcing similar measures. Many schools are also canceling in-person classes and shifting to online-only instruction.
BNP Paribas Open: The tennis tournament in Indian Wells, which attracts major stars and thousands of fans, has been postponed.
Long Beach events: Long Beach officials ordered the cancellation of all large-scale events through April 2020 - including the city's annual Grand Prix, which had been scheduled for April 17-19. The lengthy list of canceled events includes Disney on Ice and Shen Yun 2020.
LA Pride: The parade and festival celebrating the LGBTQ+ community held in West Hollywood every summer has been postponed. The event, which was celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, had been planned for June.
Hamilton: Performances of the hit musical "Hamilton"' at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood have now been suspended through March 31. The musical's opening night was scheduled for Thursday night.
Coachella and Stagecoach: The Coachella and Stagecoach festivals in the Coachella Valley have been postponed to October. Promoter Goldenvoice says the Riverside County health department ordered the cancellation after declaring a public health emergency in the county. The two events have been rescheduled to October.
South by Southwest: The music, film and technology conference that normally takes place in Austin, Texas was canceled by the city, an announcement made after several major vendors had already announced they were withdrawing.
Concerts/tours: Thousands of tours and performances in Asia and Italy have been canceled or postponed amid the outbreak. Billboard magazine has compiled a list of canceled and rescheduled tours that include: BTS concerts in South Korea, a Green Day tour of Asia, Ben Harper tour of Japan, Madonna ending her Madame X Tour, Pearl Jam postponing a North American tour, Miley Cyrus canceling a tour of Australia. Also, in Los Angeles the Korea Times Music Festival that had been scheduled for April 25 at the Hollywood Bowl has been postponed.
Shark Tank casting call: The Shark Tank Casting Call in Cabazon at Morongo on March 19 has been postponed indefinitely due to the California Department of Public Health's request for cancellations of gatherings involving 250 persons or more. You can still apply online at https://sharktankcastingseason12.castingcrane.com/.
March Field Air and Space Expo: The expo had been scheduled for March 28-29 at the base in Riverside County. It has now been postponed, with a new date yet to be announced.
PaleyFest: The Paley Center for Media television festival, which had been scheduled for March 13-22 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, has been postponed. Festival organizers are working on rescheduling options.
Business conferences: In the business world, hundreds of gatherings have been postponed or canceled. AdAge has complied a list that includes the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim; the Snap Partner Summit in Los Angeles that has shifted to online; and E3, the massive videogame expo that had been planned for June in Los Angeles.
Nordstrom: Nordstrom will close its stores beginning March 17 for two weeks. The decision includes its stores in the U.S. and Canada. Its online services remain open.
