Boston mayor announces no large public events through Labor Day

Boston mayor Marty Walsh announced on Friday that the city will not allow any parades or festivals to take place up through Labor Day on September 7th. Walsh said they would evaluate smaller events on a case-by-case basis through the summer, but, “If your event brings crowds together in close contact—like a concert, a road race, or a flag raising— you should start looking at alternatives now.”

The four major sports leagues and college football are all trying to figure out next steps for restarting their current seasons or starting an upcoming season. Part of the problem for deciding on return dates in American cities is the nature of the country. While we do have a single federal government currently pushing for states to re-open, each of the 50 states and then the countless local governments within each state make many of the decisions.

For now, this kind of decision shows how difficult it will be to get sports going with fans in attendance. The pro leagues will likely restart without fans at some point, but taking the next step after of getting butts in the seats is tough to tell. Although television money is the big driver for sports teams, tickets and the money people spend when inside the stadium is a huge deal — especially for teams in smaller TV markets.