Narrative:

This flight was a sightseeing flight along the ZZZ skyline with two passengers; at the location at issue I was operating at 1;600 feet MSL underneath the outer shelf of ZZZ class B airspace (which begins at 3;600 feet MSL). Upon reaching the southeast edge of the 3 NM ring of the sporting tfr; I noticed that the lights were illuminated. Due to the issues regarding coronavirus I was not sure whether this tfr would be considered active even if a game was playing; given the fact that the games are currently being played with the facility empty. Notwithstanding that; I made an immediate turn to the east to exit that airspace; however; it is possible that I was within the outer limits of that tfr.because of the media hysteria regarding coronavirus; and my belief that many games have been cancelled or postponed; I was lulled into a sense of complacency regarding my usual check of active games prior to giving sightseeing flights of the ZZZ skyline.although I accept responsibility for this possible regulation violation; I really do not like the idea of having permanent tfrs from one hour prior to the start of an event to one hour after it ends. Regarding the latter; it is very hard to know when a game ends as there is no fixed ending time (and the websites for applicable sports teams often do not report the ending time of a game). I do not believe that having permanent tfrs of this sort do anything to enhance the safety of the fans who attend these particular events--if anyone was heck-bent on causing a serious incident at an event; using an aircraft; he/she would not care about the rules. I would urge the readers of this report to try to influence the FAA to lift these restrictions altogether; or at the very least; pass a regulation prohibiting excessive loitering (for example; continually circling around an event).

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: GA pilot reported entering a sporting TFR and wasn't sure if these type of TFRs are still in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Narrative: This flight was a sightseeing flight along the ZZZ Skyline with two passengers; at the location at issue I was operating at 1;600 feet MSL underneath the outer shelf of ZZZ Class B Airspace (which begins at 3;600 feet MSL). Upon reaching the southeast edge of the 3 NM ring of the sporting TFR; I noticed that the lights were illuminated. Due to the issues regarding coronavirus I was not sure whether this TFR would be considered active even if a game was playing; given the fact that the games are currently being played with the facility empty. Notwithstanding that; I made an immediate turn to the east to exit that airspace; however; it is possible that I was within the outer limits of that TFR.Because of the media hysteria regarding coronavirus; and my belief that many games have been cancelled or postponed; I was lulled into a sense of complacency regarding my usual check of active games prior to giving sightseeing flights of the ZZZ skyline.Although I accept responsibility for this possible regulation violation; I really do not like the idea of having permanent TFRs from one hour prior to the start of an event to one hour after it ends. Regarding the latter; it is very hard to know when a game ends as there is no fixed ending time (and the websites for applicable sports teams often do not report the ending time of a game). I do not believe that having permanent TFRs of this sort do anything to enhance the safety of the fans who attend these particular events--if anyone was heck-bent on causing a serious incident at an event; using an aircraft; he/she would not care about the rules. I would urge the readers of this report to try to influence the FAA to lift these restrictions altogether; or at the very least; pass a regulation prohibiting excessive loitering (for example; continually circling around an event).

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.