Sharks, Quakes games in jeopardy as county bans large gatherings

Upcoming San Jose Sharks, San Jose Earthquakes and women's NCAA Tournament games could be impacted by Santa Clara County's announcement Monday that it is banning all mass gatherings through the end of March due to the coronavirus. It is unclear if the scheduled games will be played behind closed doors, moved to another site or postponed.

A woman died of the coronavirus on Monday in Santa Clara County, where public health officials put the number of confirmed cases of the illness at 43. In the wake of that news, the county announced that it won't allow gatherings of more than 1,000 beginning on Wednesday and running for at least three weeks.

The ban covers auditoriums, stadiums, arenas and theaters but exempts airports and shopping malls. The Sharks issued a statement that said, "We will be reviewing each scheduled event due to take place the rest of the month and provide an update in the coming days.

The Sharks are scheduled for NHL home games March 19 against the Montreal Canadiens, March 21 against the Boston Bruins and March 29 against the Arizona Coyotes. The Earthquakes are due for an MLS home game March 21 against Sporting Kansas City.

The women's NCAA Tournament had been likely to play first-round games March 20-22 at Stanford, home of the seventh-ranked Cardinal. The minor league hockey San Jose Barracuda are due to play home games March 17 and March 22. The Barracuda play at the same arena as the Sharks, SAP Center, which postponed performances of "Tony Robbins Live" scheduled for March 12-15, according to the arena's website.

Singer Marc Anthony is scheduled to perform at SAP Center on March 20, and Cirque du Soleil was due to have eight performances there from March 24-28. --Field Level Media