It appears Gillette Stadium will be shut down for a little while due to COVID-19.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to all NFL teams saying their facilities must be shut down by Wednesday at 6 p.m., according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
While the facilities will be shut down, the organizations are still allowed to conduct normal business -- including signing free agents.
The NFL will reassess the situation on April 8 and will determine what is best for the league going forward, according to Goodell's memo.
This doesn't necessarily come as a surprise either considering the MLB, NHL, NBA and MLS have postponed their seasons due to growing coronavirus concerns. The NFL Draft, scheduled for April 23-25, will no longer be held in Las Vegas because of the coronavirus. The league's general manager subcommittee recommended to Goodell on Tuesday that the draft be moved back, according to an ESPN report. But as of now, the NFL is reportedly planning on sticking with the April dates and doing some sort of online draft where teams will announce their picks and draftees will be connected to that team via video chat. n
Although the league will reevaluate the situation come April, it's likely that NFL facilities will be closed longer than that.
At NEWS CENTER Maine, we're focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the illness. To see our full coverage, visit our coronavirus section, here: /coronavirus
