N.B.A. Stars and Owners Say They’ll Cover Workers’ Lost Wages

“While we cannot speak directly for other companies that employ staff in the arena, we are hopeful of reaching accommodation protecting them as well,” a team statement said.

On Friday evening, the Golden State Warriors announced that their players, coaches and owners would donate $1 million to a disaster relief fund set up for arena workers by the franchise’s community foundation. The team said it employs more than 1,000 part-time workers for each game.

Some other teams, like the Houston Rockets, said that they were working on plans but had not finalized them yet. Dianna Boyce, a vice president with the Indiana Pacers, said in an email that the franchise was “doing what we can to lessen the impact on our employees,” but was not more specific.

There is also the matter of concessions staffers — employees who sell food and beverages for various chains at the arenas. Their fate remains unclear. They are often managed separately from the arena and the teams. Representatives for Aramark, the food and beverage company that, according to its website, services dozens of professional teams across multiple leagues, did not respond to a request for comment.

After Spencer Dinwiddie, the Nets guard, posted a tweet on Thursday, saying, “Gotta take care of the non salary arena staff etc,” Nets owner Joe Tsai responded, “Hear hear,” and added that the Nets were working on a plan.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/sports/basketball/nba-arena-workers-coronavirus.html