Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Invites Professional Sport Leagues To Resume Seasons In Sunshine State

As pro sports leagues prepare to resume their seasons following the coronavirus pandemic, one of the big questions has been where will games be played, as a means to minimize travel. One state that has been thrown out for leagues playing games has been Florida. On Wednesday, Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said that he would be willing to have his state be the site of restarting sports. 

The UFC has been hosting some events in Jacksonville. This week TaylorMade’s Driving Relief event featuring Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff, as well as The Match II featuring Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, next week are expected to play in Florida. 

During a press conference on Wednesday, DeSantis said that all pro sport leagues are welcome to Florida to resume its season. “All these professional sports are going to be welcome in Florida. That may not be the case in every other state in this country, as we’ve seen. And so what I would tell commissioners of leagues is: “If you have a team in an area where they just won’t let them operate, we’ll find a place for you here in the state of Florida because we think it’s important and we know it can be done safely.”

The NBA has suggested Disney World in Florida to play the remainder of their season, the MLB has thrown out the idea of playing games in a bubble city (now it seems that they will have multiple), the MLS has suggested playing games in Orlando.