Can anyone explain?

[Scarponi]

Can anyone explain the absolute vehement denial of having crowdless races in the current pandemic? I just cannot fathom the fact organisers are claiming they would rather not run a race in a sport that is clinging to survuval because fans who pay zero fees will not be on the sidelines (n general) yet in most other sports they are willing to go crowdless to survive and generate TV revenue.

 

[RedheadDane]

I can't quite explain why anyone would deny that it could be a possible solution. Except, maybe, for the fact that one of the "selling" points of cycling is the accessibility.
I can, however, see why it might be quite difficult to do; bit harder to keep the crowds away. In stadium sports it's simply a matter of not letting anyone into the stadium, in cycling it's a bit more complicated.

 

[BlueRoads]

Indeed I think that is the only rational reason: That to keep crowds from the event will not only not bring you money, it will really cost you because of the barriers, maybe changes of insurence...
But it looked quite doable at Paris-Nice.
So I'd go with: No. I can't explain.
Then of course we must consider that not being able to bath in VIPs will make the organizers feel small and unimportant and they might prefer to cancel the whole thing and do something else with their time.

 

[yaco]

Assuming COVID19 remains under control in the next three months, then expect limited crowds at sporting events - It's already happening in Australia.

 

[Escarabajo]

We really need to understand how companies and sponsors make the money in cycling from exposure. I really don't know. Maybe is mostly from TV exposure more than the rights to televise it. In that case, crowds are not as necessary.

As for the other sports it could be easier to go crowd less because the TV fees are rather high. They can survive better than in cycling.

 

[RedheadDane]

It seems to mostly be organisers who vehemently deny the possibility. Whereas lots of riders have actually been saying it's better than no racing.

 

[tobydawq]

It's the VIP thing.

 

[Breezy1985]

I wonder is it all just PR talk so they can show they care about the fans but I think it is a bluff

 

[Koronin]

It's more the organizers. All the riders I've seen make comments would prefer to race without fans than to not race at all. I think it's a similar idea to what the NASCAR and IndyCar drivers have said after racing without fans. It's strange to not have the fans there to celebrate with, but they know the fans are watching on TV and they are paid to entertain and by racing they hope they are bringing a little normalcy back to everyone's lives along with entertaining their fans.

 

[JayKosta]

Do the on-site vendors and concessions pay a fee to the organizers? Would all the various towns and villages be willing to close their roads if no spectators? I imagine there is a large number of volunteers needed, would they participate without spectators?