The Halifax Hurricanes should’ve been preparing for their home game against the Island Storm on Tuesday night.
Instead, their NBL Canada season could be over.
The league suspended basketball operations last week until further notice as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But Mike Leslie, Hurricanes head coach and general manager, isn’t optimistic that the 2019-20 season will continue.
Leslie said he was informed that Scotiabank Centre – the Hurricanes’ home arena – will be closed for at least four weeks, except for essential services. There was no timeline for when the downtown venue would reopen.
Erin Esiyok-Prime, director of marketing and communications for Events East, which manages Scotiabank Centre, said in an email: "With the ongoing concerns around COVID-19, resulting event cancellations and the recommendation from the Province of Nova Scotia to restrict public gatherings of 150 people or more, Scotiabank Centre is closed to events and public access until further notice."
Leslie said the league is doing their due diligence before making any decisions about the rest of the season.
“They were trying to get some time separated from suspending operations and having more of a clear view until the next step,” Leslie said in a recent interview.
“It gave us a little time to look ahead to see where this was trending and what new developments were to take place. They need all the relevant information they can we gather which will allow all of us to make a better informed decision on the next step. That allows everyone to give their input and then eventually make a decision one way or another.
“It’s a crazy time around the world obviously.”
Following their 120-113 loss to the Express in Windsor, Ont., on Wednesday night, the Hurricanes hit the road the following morning. But instead of making the seven-hour drive to Sudbury for their Saturday evening matchup against the Five, they headed to the airport in Toronto.
Later that Thursday afternoon, the league announced it was suspending basketball operations.
“We figured the writing was on the wall to stop play,” Leslie recalled. “That gave us the best avenue to get back to Halifax. I met with the players as we were departing the airport and told them, ‘we have a couple of days – Saturday and Sunday – just relax, hunker down and we’ll get back together with more information as to where we’re going and what we’re doing.’”
On the court, the Hurricanes have struggled to an 8-16 record this season and were 1-10 on the road when play was halted.
But that seems inconsequential at this time. As Leslie stated, “basketball is secondary on a list of priorities.”
The 58-year-old, who became a grandfather on Friday, said the outbreak of this global pandemic has given him a “different perspective.”
“I’m not 35 and trying to carve out a career doing this,” said Leslie, in his fourth season as Hurricanes bench boss. “You have to step back from it. I just stopped thinking about moving ahead. There’s nothing you can do. You can’t control any of this.
“Maybe it’s my age, maybe it’s circumstances but it’s just a much, much bigger event than basketball. You have to move to that place very quickly. There are a lot of people who are in a lot of hardships and a lot of difficulty. You think of the health workers, the front-line people who are doing everything they possibly can while they’re stretched to the max. Or think about the folks who are in the public service industry right now, whether it’s your coffee at the drive-thru window or whomever. Think of the impact of how many people they are in touch with.
“That came to light for all of us on the flight home to Halifax. We talked about that in a group about how many people we have interacted with, whether it was the flight attendant or airport security. You realize the magnitude of how bad this could be if it wasn’t contained or managed or controlled in some way.”
