Trump: Professional sports will restart without fans in attendance

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United States President Donald Trump has begun to lay out a potential road map for the post-coronavirus return of professional sports.

Trump expects that whenever sports leagues do return, they'll have to do so in empty facilities.

"Many of them are gonna be starting without the fans, so it'll be made for television. The good old days, made for television," Trump said, according to Arash Markazi of the Los Angeles Times. "And it'll go that way, and then the fans will start coming in, maybe they'll be separated by two seats. And then ultimately, we want to have packed arenas.

"When the virus is gone, we're going to have packed arenas, and we're gonna be back to enjoying sports the way they're supposed to be. ... So at a certain point in time, when the virus is gone, we're gonna be back to normal."

His remarks come one day after Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the chief medical experts on the administration's coronavirus task force, made similar comments about sports returning without fans.

The president also confirmed he sought the advice of the commissioners of "almost every sport" Wednesday, according to Aaron Rupar of Vox. Earlier this week, Trump announced he reached out to the commissioners of the four major sports leagues, as well as those of MLS, NASCAR, WWE, the WNBA, and the PGA Tour, among others.

Most pro sports leagues in North America are on hold due to the pandemic. At least one already has a plan to return, as the PGA announced Thursday that it will resume hosting golf tournaments without fans in June.