Saint Paul Saints tickets go on sale Saturday and the club is optimistic fans will be able to put them to immediate use even as sports leagues around the nation are suspending and canceling games as the novel coronavirus gains more of a foothold in the U.S.

“We’re more in watching and planning, as much as you can, which is not a lot,” executive vice president Tom Whaley said Friday.

Unlike Major League Baseball, which suspended operations Thursday about a month after starting spring training, the independent Saints aren’t scheduled to start their two-week training schedule until May 7. The season opener is set for May 19 against the Lincoln Salt Dogs at CHS Field.

Like most, Whaley has been amazed at the celerity with which U.S. pro and amateur sports have suspended for canceled competition, from the NBA and NHL to the Minnesota State High School League, which on Friday canceled the rest of its winter state tournaments.

For now, Whaley said, the Saints — last season’s American Association champions — are hoping the season will start as planned.

“We have an optimistic outlook,” he said. “Obviously, nothing is business as usual right now, but we’re very much in business. You just have to adjust day to day.”