Miami-Dade mayor clears Miami Heat to use AmericanAirlines Arena for workouts
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said Friday the Miami Heat will be allowed to hold workouts at AmericanAirlines Arena if the NBA reopens practice facilities on May 8.
In an interview with South Florida radio personality Andy Slater, the host of a show on Fox Sports 640, Gimenez went as far as saying the Heat could “probably get all their players in their facility” at once under Miami-Dade county guidelines amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NBA announced Monday it is “targeting no earlier” than a May 8 date for a reopening of team practice facilities in cities and states where local governments have loosened stay-at-home orders. But the league’s reopening of arena facilities will come with strict restrictions, including no more than four players in the arena at any one time, each working only in individual sessions and participants encouraged to social distance at least 12 feet apart at all times.
When asked by Slater if the Heat can hold workouts at AmericanAirlines Arena on May 8 if the NBA allows for practice facilities to reopen, Gimenez pointed to the fact the county began allowing basketball to be played at parks on Wednesday. Basketball at parks is currently allowed in Miami-Dade with no more than three players per half court, only for shooting and no pick-up games, and each player must have his or her own ball.
“You can, right now, the Miami Heat, if they’re willing to work out their players individually, they can do that,” Gimenez said, “because we opened up our parks on Wednesday. You can have up to three people in a half court, each with their own ball. Well, there you go. OK, so the Miami Heat can probably get all their players in their facility.”
The Heat has seven baskets at its AmericanAirlines Arena practice facility, which means 21 players would be able to work out at once on the team’s practice court under current county rules. The Heat has 17 players under contract, including two two-way contract players.
“If they get a facility that has six baskets or something like that, they can get up to 18 players working one-on-one on their own with no physical contact, keeping away from each other,” Gimenez said. “Yeah, they can get it done.
“We can allow that, as long as you maintain the same rules as one ball, nobody touches somebody else’s ball. Yeah, you can get that done.”
Heat officials declined to comment on the matter Friday. But with Gimenez clearing the team to use its practice facility, the expectation is Heat players will be working out at AmericanAirlines Arena if the NBA allows starting on May 8.
The Heat will have to follow NBA rules, though. Even with Gimenez stating the entire Heat roster can work out at once in the practice facility under current county guidelines as long as no more than three players are using each half court, the NBA is not allowing more than four players in the arena at any one time when practice facilities reopen.
When asked about Gov. Ron DeSantis saying he could envision fans at Florida sporting events possibly as early as June or July, Gimenez said “it’s a possibility.”
“When you have social distancing,” Gimenez said, “you may not be able to have 65,000 people in Hard Rock [Stadium], but could you have a limited number of people in Hard Rock, a limited number of entrances, make sure they’re separated by a certain amount. Could you have them wearing masks and all that? That could be safe. I’m not saying it is, I’m just saying it could be. I’m certainly willing to work with the governor and our venues here to see what we can do in that regard.
“We would certainly love to make sure that we don’t miss out on the rest of baseball season and football season, and maybe, hopefully, end up the basketball season. Basketball is a little different. The arena is enclosed, and all that. But outdoor venues may be a little simpler and easier to do. So I wouldn’t say no to it. I think that is something I would like to work toward, see if we can get that done.”
While the NBA may allow practice facilities to reopen on May 8, it’s still unknown whether the remainder of the 2019-20 NBA season will be played. The league announced that the NBA Draft Lottery and NBA Draft Combine have been postponed, with both events previously scheduled for later this month in Chicago.
Whether the 2019-20 NBA season is completed or not, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the NBA board of governors continued discussions Friday about delaying the start of the 2020-2021 season until December. This proposal to delay the start of next season would allow for the league to buy more time to have fans back at arenas for more games in 2020-21.
The current NBA season was suspended on March 11 and all NBA facilities have been closed to players and staff since March 20.
“In my head, I said: ‘If I was commissioner, how would I do this?’ Yeah, I could probably get it done,” Gimenez said of restarting sports amid the pandemic. “But again, I don’t run those franchises, I don’t run those leagues. But I think it’s something that can get done. It’s going to take them a little money. Maybe you have to get a hotel and say, ‘OK, all my players are here. This is the way they get fed. They don’t have contact with outside people. They get tested every three days with an antibody test.’ Then they can play against each other in an empty stadium. Yeah, you could probably get that done.”
This story was originally published May 1, 2020 at 8:41 PM.
