---
title: "3 Things Sports-Connected Franchises and Restaurants Should Consider: Major League Baseball May Start Even Later, If at All"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/354c8d54-42fd-4175-882a-d5ca550d1553
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/3-things-sports-connected-franchises-and-restaurants-should-consider-major-league-baseball-may-start-even-later-if-at-all-2712526
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
published: 2020-03-16T16:11:20.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:28:20.753Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/2700fb5fb88269c8a420dacfec7d274f3217.jpg
---

# 3 Things Sports-Connected Franchises and Restaurants Should Consider: Major League Baseball May Start Even Later, If at All

**TL;DR:** Major League Baseball may delay its season until Memorial Day weekend or longer due to the coronavirus pandemic. Brands connected to professional sports should build contingency plans in case sports are cancelled for an extended period.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2020-03-16. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/3-things-sports-connected-franchises-and-restaurants-should-consider-major-league-baseball-may-start-even-later-if-at-all-2712526).*

## Story

As the world spins through complete uncertainty — not only in dealing with coronavirus, but also with business aftermath — brands connected to professional sports should begin building contingency plans on what to do should sports be dark for an extended period of time.

> There’s a real possibility the Major League Baseball season could be delayed until Memorial Day weekend — or even longer — two MLB executives told USA TODAY Sports. The executives spoke on the condition of anonymity since they weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the discussions. No one knows when MLB will be able to begin its 2020 season, but certainly, playing a 162-game schedule starting on April 9 is completely unrealistic. Owners and presidents have a conference call at noon ET Monday to determine the next steps, which is changing by the hour as the **coronavirus** pandemic sweeps across the world.

Here are three things brands connected to sports should think about:

Playing old sporting games: There is a reason ESPN Classic exists, as well as a reason Chicago sports fans still have a giant smile when talking about the ’85 Bears. People love the memories of amazing sports moments. While restaurants may be closed to dine-in guests for the next few weeks, they should still be thinking about what happens next.

E-Games: The rise of video games and game playing continues to spike. What would it look like to stimulate sporting events through a Playstation game? What would it look like to broadcast these? What would it look like to offer betting on these?

Moving From Sports to Something Else: Food challenges. Board games. Bloopers. Old sports movies. There are plenty of entertainment options to entertain guests. Start thinking about what promotions you will have when the dust settles.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- USA TODAY (company)
- ESPN (company)
- coronavirus pandemic (topic)
- esports (topic)
- sports delay (topic)
- contingency planning (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/3-things-sports-connected-franchises-and-restaurants-should-consider-major-league-baseball-may-start-even-later-if-at-all-2712526). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/354c8d54-42fd-4175-882a-d5ca550d1553).