While concerns grow about sports leagues resuming in Florida amid soaring coronavirus cases, the NWSL, PLL and Supercross all pegged Utah as the host site for their seasons. Here is why the Beehive State banks on sports:
Since the 2002 Winter Olympics were held in Utah, the state has used sports as a branding and marketing tool to enhance the state’s economy and image. The strategy has gone into overdrive during the pandemic. “Sports serve as an economic driver and engine for worldwide exposure to promote the state,” says Jeff Robbins, who heads the Utah Sports Commission, created just ahead of the Olympics.
Prater credits the Utah Sports Commission for getting the race series back on the track. “The Sports Commission kept us appraised along the way and gave us a direct line to the governor’s office, which made it that much easier,” he says. “They were in it with us.” Rabil says he worked with at least a half-dozen sports entities, including the PGA, NBA and WNBA, sharing best practices about restarting sports leagues. “It was like we were studying for final exams,” says the 34-year-old Rabil on learning about internal medicine, infectious disease and viruses. “We brought the Utah plan to our medical community, and they really liked it.”
The NWSL announced plans last month for a 25-game tournament, the NWSL Challenge Cup, that kicks off Saturday in place of the 2020 season. The eight-year-old women’s soccer league will be the first U.S. team sport back in action.
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