Coronavirus Update 3/17: WrestleMania Heads to WWE Performance Center; UFC Fights, Kentucky Derby, International Soccer Tourneys Postponed WrestleMania 36 was slated for Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL; Euro 2020, Copa Am rica to be played next year By SVG Staff
Tuesday, March 17, 2020 - 12:14 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
In light of the CDC's recent recommendations for curbing the spread of the coronavirus, pro sports leagues continue to postpone or cancel seasons and events. Last week, SVG began posting a regularly updated list of announcements from pro leagues regarding postponed, canceled, or altered events. Below are further announcements, made on Tuesday, March 17. Stay tuned to sportsvideo.org for more information on how the spread of the coronavirus is impacting the sports-production industry.
WrestleMania 36 Shifts to WWE Performance Center
WWE's biggest event of the year, WrestleMania, will now be held in the company's smallest venue. Originally scheduled for Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL, on April 5, the crown jewel of the wrestling calendar is being moved 1.5 hours northeast to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. According to the WWE's statement, fans will not be allowed inside the venue, and other events running alongside WrestleMania - NXT TakeOver, the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, and Axxess fan expo - will not take place. The event will still be live-streamed on WWE Network.
Prior to this latest decision, the WWE was moving forward with remaining in Tampa but holding the event without any fans.
UFC Bows Out of Next Three Fights
The UFC is taking a different stance on moving forward with events during the coronavirus pandemic. After going forward with its fight in Brazil and moving U.S. fights to the APEX training facility in Las Vegas, UFC President Dana White is now postponing the UFC's next three fights: scheduled matches in London's O2 Arena on Saturday, March 21, and previously planned matches in Columbus, OH, at Nationwide Arena on Saturday, March 28, and at Moda Center in Portland, OR, on Saturday, April 11.
In addition, UFC offices in Las Vegas have been closed. Despite this announcement, White and the UFC are still bullish on hosting the main event next month at Brooklyn's Barclays Center on Saturday, April 18.
146th Kentucky Derby Postponed Until Sept. 5
Horse racing's Super Bowl, the Kentucky Derby, is yet another high-profile event to fall victim to the coronavirus. According to a statement made by Churchill Downs, the event will be moved from its original date on May 2 to a new one on Sept. 5.
Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen issued the following:
Throughout the rapid development of the COVID-19 pandemic, our first priority has been how to best protect the safety and health of our guests, team members, and community. As the situation evolved, we steadily made all necessary operational adjustments to provide the safest experience and environment. The most recent developments have led us to make some very difficult but, we believe, necessary decisions, and our hearts are with those who have been or continue to be affected by this pandemic.
Our team is united in our commitment to holding the very best Kentucky Derby ever and certainly the most unique in any of our lifetimes. While we are always respectful of the time-honored traditions of the Kentucky Derby, our Company's true legacy is one of resilience, the embracing of change, and unshakeable resolve.
NASCAR Extends Postponement Period to May
After initially halting only the next two races, the postponements will continue throughout the entire month of April. In addition to races at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami, these races will include Texas on March 29, Bristol on April 5, Richmond on April 19, Talladega on April 26, and Dover on May 3.
Roland Garros Rescheduled for Fall
The French Tennis Federation has decided to postpone the French Open tennis tournament. Roland Garros will now be played Sept. 20-Oct. 4, instead of May 24-June 7.
Though nobody is able to predict what the situation will be on 18th May, says the French Tennis Federation in a statement, the current confinement measures have made it impossible for us to continue with our preparations, and, as a result, we are unable to hold the tournament on the dates originally planned.
Euro 2020, Copa Am rica Move to 2021
Outside the continental U.S., large-scale events continue to change their agendas. Domestic soccer competitions have closed their doors for the foreseeable future, and massive undertakings are being put on hold as well. After much anticipation, Euro 2020, the multinational showcase that determines the best in Europe, and Copa Am rica, South America's biggest soccer tournament, will be delayed a year, to 2021.
Given numerous cancellations around the soccer world, UEFA (Europe's governing body) made this decision in order to give more importance to the completion of seasons within domestic leagues, such as England's Premier League, Spain's LaLiga, Italy's Serie A, France's Ligue 1, and Germany's Bundesliga. The women's edition of the Euros, originally slated for 2021, will now be played in 2022.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
04/12/2025
Coronal mass ejections caused by eruptions on the surface of the sun can have fa...
04/12/2025
Gracenote Content Connect enables media ecosystem to precisely align ad campaigns and programming based on rich content signals
NEW YORK - December 4, 2025 - N...
Coronavirus Update 3/17: WrestleMania Heads to WWE Performance Center; UFC Fights, Kentucky Derby, International Soccer Tourneys Postponed WrestleMania 36 was slated for Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL; Euro 2020, Copa Am rica to be played next year By SVG Staff 
