How Coronavirus is Affecting Sporting Events and the Outdoor Community
Popular Stories
The upcoming Summer Olympics in Tokyo are one of a handful of events that might be cancelled due to coronavirus concerns. Wikimedia photo.
The coronavirus is still spreading, causing panic among both the public and private sectors. It is having an unexpectedly large impact on the outdoor industry already, as multiple sporting events have been postponed, altered, or cancelled altogether. No one is sure when or how the outbreak will be contained, and in the meantime we are all sitting and watching, maybe altering some spring break plans here, some summer travel plans there.
Join Our Newsletter
Nike Inc. and Columbia Sportswear Co. recently closed and disinfected their headquarters in the Pacific Northwest because of their proximity to the confirmed cases in Washington. The FIS World Cup event next month in Italy will be held without fans present, and there is chatter that the remainder of the events will be cancelled outright. X Games Chongli in Hebei, China, was cancelled in February and still has not been rescheduled. The Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics are still under threat of being cancelled with no postponement option in sight.
The entire supply chain for outdoor gear is being severely affected as well, especially for the biking community. Los Angeles and Long Beach, the two ports responsible for one third of all U.S. imports, are seeing huge declines in the amount of incoming cargo shipments from Asia: 25% in February and an anticipated 15% for the first quarter. Moving forward, who knows how the threat of a pandemic will continue to affect the outdoor industry, but for now, we hope you're comfortable on your couch because it sounds like that's the only place you'll be seeing events for the forseeable future.
