Washington banning sporting events and gatherings with more than 250 people in Seattle area

Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington announced Wednesday a ban through the end of March on all gatherings or events of 250 or more people in the Seattle metro area, including sporting events, as the city continues to deal with an outbreak of the coronavirus.

The ban will impact games scheduled for this month involving the MLB, MLS and XFL, and if expanded beyond the Seattle area would alter plans involving the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

"I am ordering pursuant to my emergency powers that certain events in King, Pierce and Snohomish County with more than 250 people are prohibited by order of the governor," Inslee said. "These events that are prohibited are gatherings for social, recreational, spiritual and other matters, including but not limited to community, civic, public, leisure, faith-based and sporting events."

Enacting the ban was "a weighty decision," Inslee said, adding that it's "very highly likely that will be extended past March."

There are more than 265 documented cases of COVID-19 in the state of Washington, most in the counties that include and surround Seattle. There have been 24 deaths related to the coronavirus, many centered in a nursing home in Kirkland, Washington.

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The city's next sporting event is on Sunday, when the Seattle Dragons of the XFL host the Los Angeles Wildcats at CenturyLink Field, which recently had a concessions worker test positive for the coronavirus. CenturyLink Field also hosts the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL and Seattle Sounders of the MLS.

"It is clear that our state needs a more vigorous and more comprehensive and more aggressive position if we are going to slow the spread of this epidemic," Inslee said. "This demands a response consistent with the nature of the threat."

The Sounders, who typically draw upwards of 40,000 fans at home games, had just over 33,000 in attendance at the team's last home game on March 7, the franchise's smallest home crowd since 2009. The Sounders' next home game is scheduled for March 21.

The Seattle Mariners are scheduled to open their MLB season against the Texas Rangers at T-Mobile Park on March 26. The team issued a statement after the announcement to say it was exploring alternative locations for its home games.

"While we hope to be back to playing baseball in Seattle as soon as possible, the health and safety of our community is the most important consideration," the statement said.

The ban does not extend beyond the three counties, and as currently enacted does not affect the scheduled NCAA tournament games in Spokane, Washington, which is more than 250 miles to the east of Seattle. Spokane is set to host the first and second rounds of the men's tournament beginning on March 19, while Gonzaga University is expected to host the first and second rounds of the women's tournament as one of the tournament's top seeds.

Seattle's ban follows a similar action taken in San Francisco, which announced on Wednesday a ban on all gatherings of 1,000 or more people, including Golden State Warriors games. The Warriors hosted the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.