ST. LOUIS — The Arch Madness basketball tournament is back in St. Louis for the 30th year, but this year is a little different. Some fans are considering the spread of coronavirus in other parts of the U.S. and the world when making their plans.
"My concern is I don't know where all of these people have been,” Missouri State University fan Julie Wagner said.
Wagner came to town from Springfield prepared with wipes and hand sanitizer. She disinfected the counters in her hotel room before heading to the Enterprise Center.
"Wiping down the surfaces that we can, and the ones that we can't we make sure we use our hand sanitizer,” she said.
Answers to local coronavirus concerns:
The Enterprise Center is stepping up its game, too.
Officials have increased the availability of hand sanitizer throughout the arena. We found big dispensers at concession stands.
Workers also are disinfecting the things a lot of people touch — like door handles, elevator buttons and escalator handrails — several times a day.
They're even planning to wipe down seats between games.
Behind the scenes, crews are planning more regular disinfecting of locker rooms and offices, spokeswoman Lindy Noel said.
The Enterprise Center is hosting first and second round March Madness games in a couple weeks, when it’s likely teams and fans will be traveling from farther distances.
Because of the coronavirus, the National College Players Association is asking the NCAA to discuss holding the March Madness games without fans in the stands.
"I think that's a little extreme, but you know, people get panicked,” Missouri State fan Mary Barnard said.
The NCAA built a coronavirus advisory panel to guide its response but says as of now, the tournament will go on as scheduled.
The fans we met said they aren't changing their plans either.
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