Major League Soccer returns Wednesday after a four-month shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, leading the NBA and WNBA back into action in Florida.
The 26-team MLS will be the biggest men's pro sports league in the U.S. to play games since March 11.
Like both basketball leagues that will resume their seasons later this month, MLS will do so with life and competition played out under a protective "bubble" day and night in Florida.
The league begins its monthlong "MLS is Back" tournament when Orlando City and Inter Miami play Wednesday's opener in a made-for-TV production designed to get both play and revenue flowing again, even without fans in attendance at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World.
"This is what we do," Minnesota United coach Adrian Heath said. "This is what players do.
WNBA teams — including the Lynx — began arriving on Monday 120 miles away in Bradenton, Fla., at the IMG Academy. That's where all 12 teams are set to briefly quarantine, then practice and scrimmage before they play a shortened 22-game season there.
"This is not normal, not normal for anyone," Lynx star center Sylvia Fowles said. "You pretty much have to roll with it."
Twenty-two of the NBA's 30 teams — the Timberwolves excluded — started arriving Tuesday in Orlando at the same complex that now is home to MLS. They'll play eight "seeding" games starting July 30, which will determine a 16-team playoff field that eventually crowns a champion in October.