Pro sports could return to California next month, Newsom says

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says professional sports may return to the Golden State as early as next month, though he has cautioned that it is unlikely fans will be permitted to attend the games absent a coronavirus vaccine.

California, like every other state in the country, saw its professional sports leagues close up shop in March as the coronavirus began to spread across the nation. Public officials and state governments warned that it could be months until leagues would be allowed to resume, if not into next year. 

Yet Newsom on Monday offered a ray of hope for sports fans in California, announcing that teams may be permitted to resume games in June. 

The governor said at a press conference that "sporting events" and "pro sports" may be allowed to "begin to move forward" in the first week of June, depending on the trend line in coronavirus cases in that state.

He also warned that games would resume only under "prescriptive conditions" and with no spectators.

Newsom said earlier this month that he would be unlikely to authorize fully attended sporting events prior to the development of a vaccine. "It’s difficult to imagine a stadium that’s filled until we have immunity and until we have a vaccine," he said.