GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – It’s been more than a month without most sports.
“We have to get our sports back,” said President Donald Trump Tuesday. “I’m tired of watching baseball games that are 14 years old.”
The NBA and MLB are on hold and the fate of football is still unclear. In Green Bay that’s a big deal, even the preseason.
“The engagement we have with our fans is paramount when it comes to promoting our destination, because we are known around the world for football,” said Brenda Krainik, the Director of Marketing and Communications at the Greater Green Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The NFL suspended Organized Team Activities, but in Green Bay that doesn’t draw a ton of tourism anyway. The Greater Green Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau says people from out of town are still hanging on to their summer plans.
“We’re still actually communicating with visitors that are still planning vacations, which I think is a byproduct of spending so much time at their house and online,” said Krainik. “We’re sending out visitor guides every day and really looking forward to the time they can come and safely visit us again.”
Will fans be gathering to watch a Packers Training Camp practice at the end of the summer? Governor Tony Evers thinks it could be a long shot without a coronavirus vaccine.
“Just my gut level is that there’s a reason that people have canceled events in June and July and I think it’s a reasonable assumption that we still are concerned about large groups of people hanging out with each other and spreading a disease that can give us another spike in numbers and have us sitting here next year, this time, talking about the same thing,” said Evers Thursday.
The coronavirus has already started to affect the NFL preseason. This month’s draft will be all virtual, Wisconsin’s Safer at Home order extends to late May when we would see the Packers out practicing in front of fans for OTAs. Those have been suspended indefinitely. Greater Green Bay’s Visitors and Convention Bureau, though, is planning on Training Camp going on as scheduled, which is such a big tourist draw.
“There are things for Packers fans to do,” said Krainik. “No matter what it is the football season brings, we’re going to be ready for it.”
