SEC Tournament to address Coronavirus concerns

WEDNESDAY UPDATE

On Wednesday afternoon, NCAA announced that the upcoming men's and women's basketball tournaments will be played without spectators due to COVID-19 fears.

The Southeastern Conference said in a Tweet they are aware of the announcement and Wednesday night's men's basketball tournament games will continue as scheduled. The conference will evaluate plans for the remainder of the tournament and announce any updates at a later time.

Hours after a seventh case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Tennessee, thousands of SEC basketball fans are expected to arrive in Nashville for the men’s tournament.

Businesses downtown, as well as the Southeastern Conference, are taking steps to ensure visitors feel safe.

Inside Bridgestone Arena, additional hand sanitizer will be present at arena entrances and throughout concourse and in meeting rooms; locker rooms, game balls and team benches will be disinfected following each game; hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and Lysol spray will be available in team locker rooms; and hand sanitizer will be located at the scorer's table, in officials' locker rooms and operations offices. Locker rooms will also be closed to media.

The Omni Hotel in downtown Nashville is the official hotel of the tournament. While employees hung banners in the lobby to welcome fans, others focused on making sure the hotel was spotless.

“We are paying extra close attention to all the guest rooms,” said Tod Roadarmel, Area Director of Sales and Marketing for Omni Hotels and Resorts. “We are cleaning items like phones, chair backs, door knobs and door handles. Honestly, our goal is to be the cleanest building in Nashville if at all possible.”

Roadarmel added that “high touch” areas like escalator handrails, and elevator buttons are getting cleaned as many as eight times a day.

Honky tonks are also making cleanliness a priority before fans fill lower Broadway. The manager at The Stage said their business motto is to be clean at all times. “We have soap and hand sanitizer in every bathroom and every hand wash sink. We also have a sanitizer dispenser at each of the three doors.”

In a statement the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum also said it is taking additional precautions to ensure the health and safety of guests and staff. Housekeeping staff will be cleaning high touch surfaces more often, and supplies including alcohol based sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and facial tissue are available in high traffic areas.

Confirmation that the SEC Tournament would go on as planned was welcome news to President and CEO of the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. Butch Spyridon. He said around 100 conventions and meetings have canceled plans to come to Nashville over the next few months because of the Coronavirus. The result could cost the city more than 25 million dollars.

“We’re very thankful for the SEC Tournament,” said Spyridon. “It will be impacted attendance wise, but the fact that they are here and they can show Nashville is open for business could be a good message for us.”

Downtown business owners also hope Coronavirus fears don’t keep fans on the sidelines.

“Nashville is a safe place,” said Roadarmel. “Come one, come all.”