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ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex

The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is a 220-acre (89 ha) multi-purpose sports complex located at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, United States, near Orlando. The complex allows families to combine tournaments and competition with a visit to vacation destinations in the area. The complex includes nine venues and hosts numerous professional and amateur sporting events throughout the year.

This article is about the sports complex at Walt Disney World. For other uses, see Wide World of Sports (disambiguation).

Former names

Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex (1997–2010)

Walt Disney World

28°20′13.5″N 81°33′21.6″W / 28.337083°N 81.556000°W / 28.337083; -81.556000

Disney Experiences

Disney Sports Enterprises

March 28, 1997 (1997-03-28)

In reference to the weekly ABC Sports television show, Wide World of Sports (Disney bought ABC in 1996), the complex was originally known as Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex from 1997 until 2010, when it was rebranded with the name of the Disney-owned ESPN.


The complex is a part of the sports tourism emerging market.[1] The complex is mainly used for AAU tournaments; however, many prominent professional sporting events have taken place here, including the 2020 NBA Bubble, MLS is Back Tournament, 2016 Invictus Games, Pro Bowl skills competition from 2017 to 2020, 1997 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, and Atlanta Braves spring training from 1997 to 2019 among other events. The complex hosted the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games.


The Tampa Bay Rays used the complex for 2023 spring training, due to Charlotte Sports Park having been heavily damaged by Hurricane Ian.[2]

nine lane track

three rings

shot put

two /hammer rings

discus

a runway

javelin

two areas

high jump

two horizontal jump runways

two runways

pole vault

0.7-mile (1.1 km) wooded cross-country course

Disney Spring Training (1997–present) takes place from mid-February to mid-April in which high school and college teams practice during their spring break at the facility. Until 2005, the program accommodated teams primarily in track and field, lacrosse, and softball.[13]

[43]

(1997–present) takes place in December where the top teams in the nation and internationally of youth football have the Pop Warner championships held in the complex.[44] Thousands of players and families come to the event, with ESPN even broadcasting part of these games live on national television.[45]

Pop Warner Super Bowl

Disney Soccer Showcase (2000–present) a top youth soccer tournament

[1]

Sunshine Showdown, a women's baseball tournament not to be confused with [1]

the Florida–Florida State college rivalry

The resumption of the (July 30 – October 11, 2020): Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Basketball Association's 2019–20 season was suspended in March 2020. On June 4, after competing with Las Vegas for hosting rights,[46] the NBA approved a plan to restart the season on July 30 in the NBA Bubble with all games to be played at the AdventHealth Arena (previously named The Arena), the HP Field House, and the Visa Athletic Center with 22 of the league's 30 teams being invited – the 16 clubs that were in playoff position at the time and the six teams (five in the Western Conference, one in the Eastern Conference) within six games of one (primarily a Seed 8 spot). Under this plan, the 22 teams played eight regular-season "seeding" games. A possible play-in tournament for the eighth seed in each conference would then be held if the ninth seed finished the regular season within four games of the eighth seed, which did happen in the Western Conference between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Memphis Grizzlies, ending with Portland overtaking Memphis' initial playoff spot after one game played under it. The NBA Playoffs and Finals were then set to proceed as normal inside the bubble, and the season was successfully completed after the Los Angeles Lakers were victorious over the Miami Heat in six games.[47] Prior to the season officially resuming, the teams also played scrimmages at the venues with 10-minute quarters from July 22 to 28.[48] During the resumption of the season, as part of the bubble format to combat the spread of the virus, the teams were based on the Walt Disney World resort grounds at Disney's Yacht Club Resort, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, and the Gran Destino Tower at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort based on seeding, with the teams with the worst records staying at Disney's Yacht Club Resort and those with the best records (including the Lakers and Heat) staying at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort.[49] No players staying at the bubble during that time were infected with COVID-19, though a select few NBA players did violate their quarantine rules at the time and games were briefly paused after the shooting of Jacob Blake came to light.

2019–20 NBA season

The (July 8 – August 11, 2020): Major League Soccer's 2020 season was also suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though its season had just begun with each team first playing in only two games in late February and early March. On June 4, 2020, MLS and the MLS Players Association came to an agreement that included a tournament at the sports complex during the summer of 2020 to help restart their season.[50][51][52] The tournament started in the group stage on July 8, entered the knockout stage on July 25 and ended in the final on August 11 with the Portland Timbers beating host Orlando City 2–1.[53] They then officially continued the rest of their 2020 Major League Soccer season, including the 2020 Cup Playoffs, soon afterward.

MLS is Back Tournament

The entire, truncated (February 10 – March 11, 2021): With the 2019–20 NBA G League season cancelled due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic combined with the National Basketball Association having their next season be played from December 2020 to July 2021, the NBA G League decided they had to do their season under a more truncated format, similar to the 2020 NBA Bubble. While initial plans had the G League's Bubble setting take place in Atlanta,[54] the G League decided to host their entire season on the same grounds the NBA played in during their previous season. To help cover for expenses this season, each participating G League team's parent team had to contribute around $400,000-$500,000 in order for them to stay at the nearby resorts, as well as provide daily medical care, food, and COVID-19 tests.[55] For this season, only 17 of the G League's 28 teams at the time, as well as the newly implemented NBA G League Ignite farm team, were able to compete in a regular season that lasted only 15 games long from February 10 to March 6 before entering a single elimination playoff format lasting from March 8–11.[56] All games aired during that period of time were broadcast onto either ESPN2, ESPNU, or ESPN+. The season ended with the host #6 seed Lakeland Magic upsetting the #4 seed Delaware Blue Coats 97–78 in the championship match.

2020–21 NBA G League season

Disney created a third of its events while bidding for other tournaments or attracting long term partners such as the Amateur Athletic Union. As of 2006, the union hosted at the complex 30 to 35 tournaments a year. The United States Specialty Sports Association had reserved six weekends at the complex.[1] Disney also hosted more than 180 events involving more than 30 sports at the complex since 2006.[1] In recent years, the complex has been utilized in wide ranges from many youth and collegiate sports activities to even providing alternative measures for some professional sports leagues to complete their seasons in some safer environments. Some of these following programs and events have taken place in various areas at the complex over the years.

(2014)[21]

Orlando City Soccer Club

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Official website