US stadium, set for BTS concerts in April, closes operations over virus woes

A stadium in California where K-pop superband BTS planned to hold concerts next month said Thursday (local time) it will suspend operations for the time being due to concerns about the new coronavirus.

Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, tweeted, "In light of guidelines issued yesterday by the federal government to stop the spread of COVID-19, the SAP Performance Center and Levi's Stadium will close operations beginning March 13 until further notice."

BTS was scheduled to launch the US leg of its world tour on April 25 in Santa Clara, where the band plans to two days of performances. The tour would take it to Los Angeles, Dallas, Orlando, Atlanta, New Jersey, Washington, D.C. and Chicago.

But the stadium's announcement raised uncertainty for BTS's planned concerts.

"We will put out a notice if there are any changes," Big Hit Entertainment said.

In February, BTS canceled the inaugural Seoul leg of its new world tour, now set to kick off in April, as South Korea was struggling to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. (Yonhap)