SF Giants news: Governor OKs live sports in June

The SF Giants will be allowed to play at Oracle Park.

In good news for the SF Giants, California governor Gavin Newsom said on Monday that pro sports would be allowed to play in his state as soon as early June.

“Sporting events, pro sports, in that first week or so of June — without spectators and (with) modifications and very prescriptive conditions — can also begin to move forward,” Newsom said during a press conference, per The Athletic’s Anthony Slater.

So the Giants would be allowed to return to Oracle Park.

In doing so, California joins Texas and New York in making such an announcement specifically regarding sports. Texas puts May 31 as the date, and New York did not give a date.

This has been quite a turnaround since early April, when Newsom indicated he did not expect sports to return to California until next year. With conditions management within the state and beyond, more and more “normal” life is beginning to return.

For the Giants, that means knowing they’ll be able to play their games in the Bay Area rather than being forced into their spring training facilities in Arizona as they otherwise would have been.

Of course, MLB and its players have not come to a full agreement about playing a 2020 season and what it will look like. Debate hinges both on financial issues and on issues of health.

The current proposal calls for an 82-game season with teams playing in their home stadiums without fans. Various precautions will be taken, including frequent testing, additional physical spacing, prohibiting spitting, and more.

Money also remains an issue. Although the teams and players agreed to prorated salaries, a full season of service time, and minimum payouts, MLB owners say that they will collectively lose $4 billion, or about $640,000 per game, without fans in the seats. Owners presented a 50/50 revenue split with players.

Per the AP article, the Giants were projected to lose $218 million. The Giants are the fifth most valuable team in MLB, per Forbes.

The Giants would only face NL West and AL West teams this season and would likely have to contend with a universal DH.

So today’s news from the governor is positive, but there remain hurdles to be cleared before baseball’s return to the Bay Area is a sure thing.