**Updated as of 2:00 p.m., March 13, 2020**
Arenas and stadiums will be dark Friday and for the foreseeable future.
And not just in major sports venues, but local rinks as well.
Hockey Canada made the decision Thursday night to cancel all sanctioned events and that affects GOJHL, PJHL and OMHA playoffs.
The rest of the Provincial Junior Hockey League postseason has been cancelled due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. Play won’t resume until next season.
Sources tell Blackburn News that Hockey Canada decided to cancel their insurance for the rest of the year.
In an email from the Western Ontario Athletic Association Friday morning, the WOAA suspended all Senior Hockey “AA” and “A”playoffs.
This all stems from COVID-19 and concern for player and public safety.
The domino affect started Wednesday night when the NBA put a hold on their season due to COVID-19 concerns. The NHL made a similar move early Thursday afternoon with the AHL and CHL following suit shortly thereafter.
And MLB suspended spring training.
The Toronto Blue Jays won their final two exhibition games before the supsension. A split squad Jays team defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5 while another Toronto split squad routed Canada's junior team 22-6 in Dunedin.
Opening day is in question and has been pushed back by two weeks.
And the PGA halted the Players Championship and players won't tee off at any other upcoming tournaments over the next three weeks. Listowel's Corey Conners was tied for seventh with 4-under-par first round, and that's where the tournament ended.
**With files from Josh Boyce**