SANTA CLARA — Santa Clara University officials are working to secure the Santa Cruz Warriors’ home arena for the men’s basketball team in the wake of county COVID-19 restrictions on sports activities, a source with knowledge of the negotiations said Monday night.
Santa Clara, which opened the season with three consecutive victories in the Bronco Invitational, is expected to play at 2,505-seat Kaiser Permanente Arena said the source who did not want to be identified because the agreement had not been finalized.
School officials were forced to find new facilities when Santa Clara County’s health office announced new restrictions that went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday and will last until Dec. 21. The guidelines include a three-week ban on all professional, collegiate and high school sports, a mandatory quarantine for those traveling into the region from more than 150 miles away and new capacity limits for indoor businesses.
“Our players have been disciplined with their lifestyles, they have been compliant and done an amazing job for several months,” fifth-year coach Herb Sendek said Sunday. “They have a great deal invested in this. We’re hoping they can have the best possible experience.”
The Warriors, who came to Santa Cruz in 2012, play in the NBA G-League. Team officials have said hope the developmental league season will begin in January.
Santa Clara has a home game on Dec. 12 against Sacramento State and another at San Jose State on Dec. 18. Both of those games will either be canceled or moved. The Broncos also are scheduled to play at Boise State on Dec. 15. The West Coast Conference season opener is scheduled for Jan. 2 at home against Loyola Marymount.
Also, Oregon State announced Monday that it added Santa Clara to its nonconference home schedule for a game on Dec. 23.
The Broncos women’s team began a 14-day quarantine last week because of a positive COVID-19 test. It is unclear where the women would resume practice once they are cleared. Their season opener now is scheduled for Dec. 28 at the University of San Diego.
