Earlier this week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speculated that sports events in his state could have fans in attendance again, with venues operating at twenty-five percent capacity, this June or July. According to the guidelines for lifting coronavirus restrictions delivered to the governor by the Re-Open Florida Task Force, events could be able to have spectators again as early as Monday, May 4.
The report details a three-phase plan for reopening the state, which is still reporting hundreds of new cases per day and is being criticized for its handling of COVID-19 death data, with many leisure activities included in Phase 1. While bars and nightclubs must remain closed and “vacation rentals should remain suspended,” state parks and public beaches will open with some restrictions during this face. Restaurants, gyms and fitness centers, retail businesses, “personal service businesses” like barbershops and nail salons, and “large venues (i.e., movie theaters, concert halls, auditoriums, bowling alleys, arcades, playhouses, casinos),” are all allowed to re-open as long as they “operate at no more than 50 percent of building capacity.”
The part of the report that most directly relates to pro wrestling is where it says that “large spectator sporting events should use strict social distancing guidelines and limit occupancy of venues to 25 percent building capacity.” The people having wrestling matches at the WWE tapings and AEW live events in Florida still wouldn’t be social distancing, but fans, as long as they spread out enough, would be allowed to watch them.
How wrestling companies respond to this development remains to be seen, but it’s worth noting that some continue to be committed to not running shows during the pandemic. Ring of Honor announced today that “Maintaining the commitment to making the health and safety of our fans and personnel the top priority during the COVID-19 crisis” they have “canceled all live events that had been scheduled for June.”