California governor Gavin Newsom says sports could return to the state by early June

On Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom praised the state for taking stay at home measures seriously as we all fight the coronavirus.

He then fueled some optimism for sports fans, by saying that the state is on track to reopen for sports at the start of June.

Newsom — the former mayor of San Francisco — noted that if sports return in the first week of June, they will be without fans, and with “modifications and very prescriptive conditions.”

That’s a huge step towards the San Francisco Giants returning to play, as it would presumably mean the Giants could host games, rather than having to go to a neutral location. Assuming there are games to be played.

Newsom pointed to some statistics that show how well California is doing in combatting the coronavirus. The state has had some of the strongest measures and orders as far as restricting social gatherings in light of the pandemic.

The governor did note that reopening things like sports is contingent on people continuing to abide by laws and stay at home orders, so that these statistics can continue to trend in an optimistic direction. If the trends stagnate or reverse course, it’s likely that we see this timeline pushed back.

It’s been over two months since California hosted a professional sporting event. On March 11, the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks both hosted games. Since then, not a single professional sporting event has taken place in the state.

That could be changing soon. If California is able to hold the course, and MLB’s plan for a season start in July successfully transpires, we could have San Francisco Giants baseball — in San Francisco — before too long.

And wouldn’t that be nice.