The NCAA announced Thursday afternoon that all winter and spring championships will be canceled, meaning no men’s basketball or hockey tournaments will be held at the Times Center amid coronavirus concerns.

“I don’t think anybody saw this coming the way it [spread] so quickly,” said Times Union Center GM Bob Belber.

The announcement has added to the worries of downtown businesses. Restaurants like Amigos Tacos and Empanadas had ordered extra food in preparation for these events, which now will no longer happen.

“We started last month. There weren’t that many events, but this was the starting point for us. We were really looking forward to it,” said Amigos Manager Victoria González.

Earlier in the day, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced prohibiting events of 500 or more people statewide. The Egg immediately postponed this weekend’s performances, along with Proctors, which postponed all events at their venues until April 12.

“This hit quick, and I think people are making decisions almost on the go,” said John Keller, the owner of Katie O'Byrne's Irish Pub & Restaurant.

Keller is being forced to postpone this Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day block party; however, Keller says the bar will be opened this weekend with a smaller crowd.

“We know a lot of people are nervous, understandably so, so let’s wait it out and when May rolls around, June rolls around, we’ll reschedule and do something fun to get everybody back out,” Keller said.