Shortly after Ohio Governor Mike DeWine recommended that indoor sporting events in the state not allow spectators in light of concerns regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19), the Ohio High School Athletic Association announced that its state tournaments will continue with limited spectators in attendance.
According to a release, attendance at the events will "most likely" be limited to the immediate family members of the participants.
“This will be a very difficult time for our schools and fans, but we cannot ignore the directive of the Governor,” OHSAA Executive Director Jerry Snodgrass said in a statement. “We are pleased that our tournaments can continue and we will soon determine who can attend. However, we can already say that it will most likely be no more than the immediate family of the student-athletes participating in the event.”
Following the boys' basketball regional tournament games scheduled for Tuesday night -- which fans will be allowed to attend -- the OHSAA will announce how it plans to proceed with the remainder of its tournaments on Wednesday morning. At that time, the OHSAA will also announce its plans for media coverage and refunding previously sold tickets to events.
This week will mark the conclusion of Ohio's Girls Basketball Tournament and State Wrestling Tournament. The Girls' Basketball Tournament will be held at St. John's Arena in Columbus from March 12-14, with the Wrestling Tournament held at the Jerome Schottenstein Center from March 13-15.
The Mid-American Conference, which is scheduled to hold its men's basketball tournament at Cleveland's Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse later this week, has yet to respond to DeWine's recommendation.
