NBA confirms it is in talks with Disney World to host restart of NBA season
The NBA is now officially confirming that it is in talks with Disney about restarting the NBA season at the ESPN Wide World of Sports at the Walt Disney World Resort.
Reports have been going around that Disney is starting to prepare resorts that would be used for NBA players and staff to stay while games are played at the sports complex. Playing games at this single location would enable to put all involved inside a safety bubble to allow the season to end.
NBA Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass issued this following statement on Twitter today, May 23:
The NBA in conjunction with the National Basketball Players Association is engaged in exploratory conversations with The Walt Disney Company about restarting the 2019-20 NBA season in late July at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida as a single site for an NBA campus for games, practices and housing. Our priority continues to be the health and safety of all involved, and we are working with public experts and government officials on a comprehensive set of guidelines and to ensure that appropriate medical protocols and protections are in place.”
The 220-acre complex with multiple arenas would be used not only for games but for practice and housing as well. The league has been working on a number of return-to-play scenarios for several weeks.
The complex also has 2,500 square foot state-of-the-art production facility with eight edit bays and uplinks to ESPN in Bristol, Conn., Los Angeles and New York. It features 56 high-definition cameras (42 robotic, 10 handheld and four studio) and 40 high-definition video screens, including 3 jumbo screens that can capture and display footage, event highlights and interviews that will broadcast throughout the complex.
