If you visit somewhere like the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minnesota, you're probably not thinking about the financial effect that you have on the community. But whether you realize it or not, you're helping to contribute to an $89.1 million impact.
That large chunk of change and several more could be erased due to coronavirus. The worst part about that title figure of $12 billion? It could increase to upwards of $25 billion in the not-so-far future.
These jaw-dropping findings and more come from a recent ESPN report, which states that the abrupt stoppage of sports and the inability to resume them "will erase at least $12 billion in revenue and hundreds of thousands of jobs," and the risk of the cancellation of the 2020 NFL and CFB seasons means that the number could increase twofold, if not more.
The revenue losses come with assumptions, primarily that the NBA and NHL will not finish their 2020 regular seasons and that MLB and MLS miss a significant chunk of theirs. However, as the days go by and the concern surrounding the virus continues to grow to unimaginable levels, these assumptions are realistic, perhaps conservative, views of the near future.
ESPN also notes that the analysis is conservative in other ways, as major sports like golf and tennis, as well as the burgeoning sports betting industry, are not taken into account.
Obviously, nearly every industry is taking a massive hit from the coronavirus. For instance, the LA Times reported that $12 billion in TV ad sales could be wiped out by the virus. USA Today reports that the majority of the $261 billion casino gaming industry has completely closed down, while the $94 billion gym and fitness industry has also taken a massive hit and is one of the most at-risk industries given the highly interpersonal atmospheres that gyms create.
Should one or both of the NFL and CFB seasons start at a reasonable time, a massive loss could be avoided, but the leagues will likely take a monumental hit regardless given the likely and necessary absence of fans and ticket revenue.
Job-wise, coronavirus has resulted in the unemployment claims of 30 million Americans, according to CNBC. Sports is no exception to this extremely unfortunate rule, as it has become known that despite the best efforts of many professional franchises, not all jobs can be salvaged. We hear the stories about teams like the Phillies, among many others, who have established funds and ways to continue paying employees despite the lack of MLB action at this time.
But for organizations and parts of the sports industry that aren't billion-dollar franchises like most MLB teams are, sporting goods stores and golf courses, which are just two of the many examples mentioned in the ESPN report, have seen several jobs disappear.
Optimism is hard to come by while the future of this virus and its impact are so hard to predict, and the latest sports-focused projection from Dr. Anthony Fauci says that leagues may have to cancel seasons entirely if widespread testing is not available for the players. It becomes tricky even if widespread tests do become more accessible, as sports are not widely considered to be "essential" and thus would not get priority.
