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The NBA in Talks to Finish the Current Season at Disney World
By Jeff Osienya May 25, 2020 IndustryNorth America’s NBA and MLS sports leagues could resume their adjourned seasons at Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.North America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) is having talks with the Walt Disney Company to see how they can restart the suspended NBA season at the Disney World Resort in Florida later in July. According to Mike Bass, the NBA spokesperson, the basketball league is "engaged in exploratory conversations" with the Disney World Resort and the National Basketball Players Association about how the games can resume.
The NBA basketball season was suspended back in mid-March after Rudy Gobert, the Utah big man tested positive for the new highly infectious COVID-19 virus. From the NBA’s 82-game schedule, there were five weeks’ worth of games remaining when the season was halted. At that time, the NBA became the first professional sports league in North America to be put on hold as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, and other sports leagues followed suit soon after. Since then, many other players of the 30-team basketball league have tested positive, including Kevin Durant, the former MVP player of the Brooklyn Nets.
The Pro Soccer League Could Also Be ‘Going to Disney World’
With the likelihood of the NBA concluding the remainder of the season at Disney’s Central Florida Resort, it appears that the Major League Soccer (MLS) is also warming up to the same idea. The MLS season is over 90% complete with only a few games remaining.
Before the pandemic shook up everything, basketball playoffs for the NBA had initially been scheduled for an 18th April starting date and were to end about two months later in June. Right now, however, the regular season is only 80% complete, with the Lost Angeles Lakers leading the Western Conference and the Milwaukee Bucks sitting atop the Eastern Conference rankings.
As the talks between the NBA and Disney World continue, NBA and MLS teams in areas that haven’t been hit too hard by the pandemic have already re-opened their training facilities. The teams are however resuming their practice under stern sanitization and safety protocols, and only after the state and local governments have given a thumbs up.
The ESPN Sports Complex at Disney World is the Perfect Venue
Hypothetically, should these talks bear fruits, the remainder of the games for the basketball league would ideally be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex (WWOS). This athletic complex is an expansive sports venue within the Disney World resort and it also boasts of three arenas and a multitude of hotel rooms to cater to the accommodation of players and supporting staff.
Given that the NBA and MLS teams could be finishing their seasons without spectators like Germany’s Bundesliga and Korean K-League Football, the sports complex at Disney World is a perfect venue. The location would not only give the league an easier time in limiting outside exposure but it is also already furnished with live broadcast equipment and a production facility on site. The said equipment has already been used previously for sports events in the amateur, collegiate and professional range.
Should both sports leagues complete their matches in the 220-acre ESPN WWOS, it wouldn’t be the first time that the leagues in question have used the sports complex for their competitions. Last year's Junior NBA Championships and MLS All-Star Skills Challenge events were held in the sports facility, and this year’s Junior NBA Global Championships will use the same venue.
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