Chicago Cubs

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the shutdown of sports leagues and events — along with just about everything else — across the United States over the last several months. And sports-related events *next year* are now beginning to be canceled.

The Chicago Cubs announced on Friday that the 2021 Cubs Convention has been canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. The annual event was scheduled to take place Jan. 15-17 at the Sheraton Grand Chicago.

Here’s what Cubs spokesman Julian Green had to say about the decision, according to the Chicago Tribune:

“When we thought about producing an event of this size and magnitude in a pandemic environment, it was just not practical given the constraints of unknown hotel constrictions,” Cubs spokesman Julian Green said. “We still don’t know what’s possible in a hotel environment and given an unknown capacity for mass gatherings and events in the future, and other circumstances beyond our control, we felt the practical decision was to cancel it for next January.”

As the Chicago Tribune also notes, the Cubs Convention — which began in 1986 — is the longest-running fanfest in professional sports. It’s  annually a very big deal for Cubs fans and the city of Chicago, with people coming from around the world to attend the festivities. It’s where the Cubs have announced surprise signings (like Kerry Wood in 2012), and provided major news on Wrigley Field renovations and new additions to the ballpark. It’s also where Cubs fans have booed the team’s ownership, like with Tom Ricketts regarding the Marquee Sports Network (the new Cubs TV network), which still isn’t able on several major providers (such as Comcast).

While shutting down a January 2021 event when we’re only in July 2020 is eye-opening, this decision makes sense.

For one, the way the COVID-19 numbers are trending, there’s a good chance the pandemic is still a big thing come January 2021. But there’s a ton of planning for everyone involved with the convention- the hotel, media, fans, the organization, former Cubs players, etc.

So it’s probably best to just get ahead of things and cancel the convention now, rather than wait and potentially make things far more inconvenient for many people down the road.

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.