The previous thread has run it's course and it has been locked. To be clear it would have been locked a while ago in accordance with our policies. As we do support the ongoing discussion I'm going to start an official thread here for those of you who would like to keep the discussion going.

There will be zero toleration here for inappropriate posts. Or back and forth arguments that devolve the thread on whose right or wrong about what we, the government, or Russell Wilson should do. Take these discussions to the social media oulets of your choice. Not ours please.

We will begin by posting this:

At this time, we do not anticipate a cancellation or alteration of our plans for Gen Con 2020. Should our plans change based on recommendations from the CDC or the State of Indiana, we will promptly inform our attendees.

Mike Boozer
Customer Service & Event Team Manager
Gen Con LLC

Is GENCON shutting down because of the virus?

Read the first post

Everything else is shutting down around the country or about to shutdown.. They are saying only events that are outside may be allowed .... GenCon is inside! Won't that put people at risk? GENCON is a place where it easy to pick up an illness. This year the con crud could be deadly. It would seem this is a huge liability.

https://www.wdrb.com/news/indiana-governor-prohibits-gatherings-of-more-than-people-said-schools/article_63831b2c-649f-11ea-ad21-3b9d7021a295.html

In addition, lots of older folks and people with compromised immune systems visit GenCon. Massively dangerous liability to invite 100,000 people from all over the country to. 

Everything that is happening currently is being postponed. Looks like the Mayor of Kansas city ordered the shutdown of gathering larger than 1,000 people recently so the NCAA Tournament there and Planet Comicon are not going to happen it seems. 

Since Gencon is months away, a Wait and See approach is for the best. This is not saying it will or it won't be cancelled. 

A decision does not need to be made now. 

What date is the cut off where we cannot get a refund if the con is cancelled?

Based on other large events being cancelled such as Emerald City Comicon, the Arnold Fitness Expo, etc. they will probably wait until as close to the event as possible to make a decision to cancel.  

As discussed in another thread it would be entirely in Gen Con's prerogative to change their refund policy to help everyone out if they do cancel past the normal refund date.  

I'd just like to say that I appreciate the framing that Gen Con staff display here:  "Should our plans change based on recommendations from the CDC or the State of Indiana...".

The vast majority of the closures currently taking place don't seem to be based on actual recommendations.  You can call it herd mentality, a public relations move, or a legal/liability concern, but the decisions don't seem based on medical recommendations from the CDC. 

This is a massive and expensive trip for many people 

Really, stop freaking out about an event that's 4+ months away.  Buy lots of cheap Corona Beer, and at least where Gen Con is concerned,

I'm not sure why GenCon would not be canceled at this point.  When E3 was canceled, that is not until June, I began to believe that the prediction is that the virus will continue to spread into the summer before any kind of control can be held.

MLB isn't canceling their season, which is really odd to me.  Only 2 weeks suspension when shows and conferences 2 months after have canceled.  Hockey is gone, NCAA is gone, NBA is gone.

I am hopeful that by August we will have eradicated this illness, and I think the U.S. is doing an outstanding job making some very tough decisions that are costing hundreds of thousands of dollars if not millions by canceling events and games.  It may be terrible right now having nothing to do, but I am hopeful we will have GenCon this year.

I am not going to be surprised if they cancel it, however.  Since I am going to get cabin fever over the next few months doing absolutely nothing, I guess I'll work on a few 1-shot games for GenCon and make myself useful.

Good luck everyone!

FYI...local Indy resident here...The Gov just banned all group meetings over 250 people.

Also the NBA, NHL, MLS, etc. are not cancelling their seasons. They've "paused" and "suspended" their seasons with most saying they will reevaluate in 30-days or so. The IOC has said about the Tokyo games:

The IOC has reiterated that there is "full commitment to the success of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, taking place from July 24 to Aug. 9, 2020."

Whether this policy would be changed in the event of a cancellation is complete speculation.

I am Going to GaryCon in 2 weeks. Unless something else changes.

Much smaller than GenCon, but they are still expecting about 2000 people now. Down 20%.

It’s still on, so I guess Wisconsin is letting it go.

i will report after the event.

G
 

Until testing kits are readily available and processing backlogs are cleared its going to be hard to determine whats going on, generally and for organised events