Bay Area sports teams, entertainment venues and others are rescheduling or canceling events as cases of the novel coronavirus pandemic spread throughout the region.
In Oakland, all large public events at city-owned facilities, including Athletics baseball games, were ordered canceled Wednesday through the end of March, another measure taken by a local jurisdiction to try to limit the spread of COVID-19.
City Administrator Sabrina Landreth issued the order effective immediately to postpone or cancel all events through at least the end of March at city-owned facilities with capacities of 1,000 people or more.
Those sites include the Fox Theater, Paramount Theater, and the Oakland Convention Center. The Oakland-Alameda Coliseum Authority also has canceled events at the Coliseum and Arena through the end of the month.
Oakland A’s games are among the affected events, with the A’s home opener on March 26 and subsequent home games at the Coliseum through the end of March canceled.
The team issued a statement about the change, saying they are “working with Major League Baseball on alternative plans for our games that will be impacted by the Oakland Coliseum.”
The team said, “We will provide more information about our plans for the games, including our ticket policy for impacted games, as soon as possible.” Major League Baseball on Thursday pushed back its Opening Day to April 9 and said it will suspend operations for at least the next four weeks.
The canceled or postponed concerts at the Oakland Arena are for Ana Gabriel on March 19 and Andre Rieu on March 22. An Oakland Panthers game at the arena this Saturday was still planned to take place, but without a crowd in attendance, according to the city.
San Francisco and Santa Clara County are among jurisdictions in recent days that have taken similar measures, affecting large events such as the San Francisco Giants games, Golden State Warriors basketball games and San Jose Sharks hockey games. Both the NBA and NHL have since announced suspensions of their respective seasons.
More than just sporting events
In Berkeley, the annual Bay Area Book Festival that had been scheduled for May 2-3 will also be canceled for the year. The festival plans to return on May 1-2, 2021.
Meanwhile, all events organized by Cal Performances are canceled through March 29 in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, University of California officials said Tuesday. Ticketholders will receive a refund automatically via the method in which they paid. The refund may take up to two weeks to process, university officials said.
Across the Bay, where San Francisco has mandated a ban on events larger than 1,000 people in the city, BroadwaySF canceled all its productions at the Orpheum and Golden Gate Theater. The cancellations included Wednesday’s evening performances of “Hamilton” and “The Last Ship.”
Anyone who has purchased tickets for the two performances through March 25 will receive a refund. Tickets purchased through Vivid Seats, Goldstar, TodayTix, Lucky Seat and any other source that is not BroadwaySF related should consult the place of purchase for a refund.
BroadwaySF said it will closely monitor and provide updates on the situation regarding the coronavirus-related cancellations as soon as it receives them. Anyone with questions is free to email feedback@broadwaysf.com.
Reporters James Lanaras and Keith Burbank contributed to this story.