GRIFFIN DOMBROSKE
Special to The Leader
Sports stadiums were once a place where thousands of fans would rejoice or despair in unison at the outcome of a big game.
During these pandemic times however, many of them have been converted into field hospitals or testing sites.
At some point near the beginning of quarantine, state governors were pushed to make many decisions that could result in heavy tolls on the population of their respective state.
With this over their heads, the governors spurred the National Guard into action.
Impromptu testing sites cropped up over the nation, including 10 NFL stadiums, several racetracks and dozens of other facilities that were normally used for sports during season.
However while these stadiums have proven to have a use other than for sports, a second use has been particularly helpful since quarantine started.
With hundreds of thousands of people sick from the Coronavirus, hospitals have been filled to the brim with excess patients.
In order to combat this, some of the very same stadiums have been converted into field hospitals to increase the patient space for nearby hospitals.
For example, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, home of the U.S. Open, was planned to be turned into a 350 bed facility.
The twelve courts of space offered around 100,000 square feet of opportunity, leaving more than enough room to take some pressure off of the surrounding hospitals.
This also isn’t the first time that sports were utilized to relieve the stress on hospitals.
In 2005 after Hurricane Katrina, the Superdome in New Orleans was converted into a field hospital for those who were economically or physically damaged by the disaster.
Additionally when a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Puerto Rico this past January, relief workers ended up handing out food and water on baseball, track and soccer facilities.
Over the last decade, sports facilities have answered the call to action in order to save many lives.
Without this help, not only would past disaster relief have gone much less smooth, but today’s pandemic related pressure would be multiplied by a significant amount.