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Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban laid out his vision for the NBA’s return Wednesday night.
When fans are back in the stands, social-distanced seating may not look entirely lonely. Families who live together would likely be able to sit together, the billionaire businessman told FOX News’ Sean Hannity.
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"We don't even have to do every other seat. When we get to where we are able to have fans we can quarantine group people together," Cuban said.
The NBA has been suspended since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Even before fans return, the league may resort to playing games without fans in attendance, he said. That’s similar to the way NASCAR recently resumed its season with televised races and no fans in the stands.
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Cuban said pro basketball would probably follow suit. “We’re getting to that point, Sean, where we’re going to be able to do some testing and hopefully be able to play games,” he told Hannity. “I don’t think we are ready for fans yet but let us take that first step.”
If the NBA resumes, playing some games outside is a possibility, according to Cuban.
“We’ve played games outside before so you are in the right direction, it is obviously a lot safer to do it outside,” he said.
Although the NBA announced on May 8 that teams would begin to reopen practice facilities for player workouts, Cuban has not taken that step for his franchise yet.
Recently on the “77 Minutes in Heaven” podcast Cuban said allowing players to reconvene despite limited public access to testing is a risk “not worth the reward.”
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Still, the league has set rules to allow for safe and controlled environments for players to train that include having no more than four players in the facility at any one time and no head or assistant coaches participating. The league is also prohibiting group activities such as scrimmages.
On May 12, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver relayed to the league's Board of Governors that he wanted to make a final decision on whether the league would return to action within two to four weeks, with the hope of the first tipoff by mid-July
Earlier today, reports surfaced that the NBA was leaning toward resuming its season in Orlando, Florida, at Disney World where all the teams would play and 30 teams and staffs would be headquartered at the dozens of nearby hotels. Las Vegas had been previously suggested for an NBA-style encampment of teams and games on the "Strip."