Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) has announced that he is allowing some sports to re-start their games in the Sunshine State, adding that fans could repopulate the stands within social distancing guidelines as early as June.
DeSantis particularly addressed pro wrestling with an appeal for the league to consider staging Wrestlemania in Florida.
“I helped recruit,” DeSantis said, according to TMZ Sports. “I wanted the wrestling to be filmed in Orlando. I’d like them to do WrestleMania. They were going to do WrestleMania in April. That was hundreds of millions of dollars. I want to keep that good relationship. I want them to invest in Florida.”
The Republican went on noting that UFC 249 is also scheduled to be held in Florida. “There’s not going to be any fans, but I think that’s going to be a good event for people,” he said.
Moving to golf, DeSantis insisted, “I work with Phil Mickelson, so they have what they need for that Tiger Woods match.”
DeSantis also praised the talk coming out of Major League Baseball that games could be held in Florida as part of a one-year realignment of the leagues.
“I think that’s going to be exciting for a lot of people and I just think there are going to be a lot of possibilities. So, let’s just be resourceful and creative,” he said.
Of course, so far, none of these sports have made any concrete plans to re-start their seasons, but DeSantis wants them to know his state is open for business.
He even thinks the fans will be back as soon as June.
“I do think if the trends are good as you get into June-July. I think there is a window to have some fans. You’re not going to have everyone packed in,” he told the media. “But man, in 90-degree weather in the state of Florida … if you’re out there and someone’s 10 feet away from you and you want to watch a ball game or something? You may be able to do that.”
DeSantis did note that his decisions are “going to be driven by the facts, driven by the data.”
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