NBA looking increasingly likely to resume season at Walt Disney World

May 26, 2020 in "ESPN Wide World of Sports"

Posted: Tuesday May 26, 2020 9:45am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Walt Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports is looking increasingly likely to host the remainder of the 2019-2020 NBA season following the suspension of the season in mid March.

Disney confirmed over the weekend that the company is in talks with the NBA, with an anticipated start in late July.

In addition to Disney's statement, on Monday during a show on ESPN, former player Charles Barkley said, "I do know this, talking to my bosses at Turner we're going to play basketball. It's gonna be in Florida and (Las) Vegas, or just Florida."

Wide World of Sports would provide a single site NBA campus for games and practice. Walt Disney World Resort hotels would serve as housing for the players during the season. Interestingly, Disney's Coronado Springs suddenly has no availability for reservations in July and August 2020. The resort's sprawling layout and self contained amenities would seem to make an ideal base for the players.

Disney and the NBA have a close relationship, with Disney owned ESPN being the league's major media partner, and Disney Springs being home to the NBA Experience. In particular, Bob Iger and NBA commissioner Adam Silver appear to have a very cooperative relationship.

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durangojimOct 15, 2020

Doesn’t seem like this experience was the PR slam dunk Disney was hoping for.

TheDisneyDaysOfOurLivesSep 03, 2020

Oh I know. Plus RSNs and who knows how many cord cutters there are now since the pandemic.

Tony PerkisSep 03, 2020

It was wrong when it was first brought up. They had record opening nights, and a sharp decline on day 2-3. Like every Opening Day/Night in the NBA and MLB ever.

TheDisneyDaysOfOurLivesSep 03, 2020

That fake narrative of poor NBA ratings seemed to go out the window last night for the Rockets-Thunder game. Even the Nuggets-Jazz game was north of 3 million viewers. https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2020/09/nba-ratings-thunder-rockets-game-7-jazz-nuggets-espn-abc/ But, you know, it's a failure.

Paper straw fanSep 02, 2020

A lot of the most recent conversation on here is why I’m pro choice.

"El Gran Magnifico"Sep 01, 2020

Ok. So I’m at a place showing the game. But I have a question. I get the wall of video people “zooming” in on the side behind the benches. But Why no “zoomers” behind the baskets for free throws?

UnderdogAug 31, 2020

The condescension, bigotry and 'informed' opinions that are spouted off as 'facts' in this thread have really helped me see who to put on ignore. This thread was of use and had value until all of that came in.

gljvdAug 31, 2020

Yup , what's scary is everyone defending a man accused of raping a minor that was about to get in a car and drive away with kids. There was an active warrant out for his arrest on multiple things and he had been in trouble with the law countless times. Yea all the officers information is tied to the ticket they gave you. You then get a lawyer or go to court on your own to fight it. Why would you argue or fight with someone that has a gun ? What exactly do you want me to respond to. Whatever it is was days ago so you'd have to link it to me at this point The major issue for the black community is the lack of fathers. 70% of violent crime is committed by fatherless children. Guess what community has the highest rates of fatherless children ? What i find funny is that Biden the man who did this is supposed to be the person to vote for so we can fix it. Biden spent 47 years in politics trying to keep black people on the plantation and yet they are going to go out in droves to vote for him. Ignorance is bliss as they say. Do you know what the Padrone act is ? Do you know about Emancipation day of June 23rd 1874 ? Do you know some places like New York kept the system in place until 1924 ? African American's are the only ones to have suffered slavery in this country. It just seems they are the only ones that define who they are by it and that is why they as a people wont ever over come in Hell forget about Italians being slaves and then getting rounded up into interment camps in ww2 ... instead look at Asian americans. They were able to come to this country and become the highest educated and highest earners out performing "white" people. Hell even with anti discrimination laws discriminating against them they are still the highest in the land. Blacks can do so also they just have to do it themselves instead of waiting for another group to do it for them

crispyAug 31, 2020

I think this is well-said. People want easy answers, and they just don't exist.

crispyAug 31, 2020

It's a struggle to overcome poverty if you are white, too, and if you read anything I wrote, you will see I do not rail against the black community or those in poverty. Poverty is soul-crushing. If we are playing the oppression Olympics, I'll play, too. My dad was one of twelve kids born to a single mother in the 40s. I have no idea who my grandfather is. He and his siblings dealt with a tremendous amount of abuse to the point that he refused to even speak of his childhood as an adult. He struck out on his own when he was twelve. My mom was one of eight whose father died when she was a young teenager. She married my dad when she was sixteen. Neither one finished middle school, much less high school. My dad worked his tail off to provide and eventually owned a small home an land free and clear - a house that had no insulation or heating and cooling systems until I was much older. Before living in that house, my family of five lived in a camper. We lived in poverty for most of my life even though things got better eventually - we were working poor, not impoverished. As I mentioned earlier, my saving grace was God and having parents who never actively tried to sabotage my efforts to get an education. I remember being overwhelmed trying to apply for college on my own because no one in my family had every gone to college before me. It is hard trying to navigate life when you feel ill-equipped and there is no one to teach you. It is even harder when the community around you actively brings you down and ridicules you for trying to do better. I saw this happen to a lot of kids both black and white. Their dreams were crushed by the people around them. Poverty is a cloak of shame that you wear no matter what race you are. I am an adult now with a good job, a college degree, a nice family, and a nice home, and I still carry that burden. When people talk about their childhood toys or happy memories, I can't relate at all. I remember hardship and hand-me-downs. One of the reasons that I have always loved WDW so much was because I felt like it allowed me to reclaim a piece of my past - I finally got to go to that awesome place that I had heard about for years. Which gets us back to the NBA. There are millions of ways that they can help those in poverty, but instead, they choose to take a knee, celebrate a rapist, and put an empty slogan on their back. That is sure to make things better.

Club CooloholicAug 31, 2020

Racism exists and when you are treated as a criminal no matter how you act it can be crushing. That said, society, until it can have frank discussions will never fix it's ongoing problems, and they are not just in the black community. We have too many children born out of wedlock, the numbers are horrific for the black community and continuing to grow on all other demographics. The stigma is not there, and maybe there should be some. That said that is a whole other issue. The one at hand was NBA players protesting police brutality, which does exist. One can be sensitive to that and understanding of people being sick of it. I can believe that and separately believe that racism effects the black community in a variety of ways, while also believing that their needs to be a greater emphasis on not having children before you have acquired your high school and yes even college degree.

TheDisneyDaysOfOurLivesAug 31, 2020

Why do they live in poverty? Because for nearly 200 years, racism was the way. You act like Black people have been free in this country since day one when that's not the case and you know it. Then from emancipation through the end of segregation, are you under the impression that Black men were working as CEOs of Fortune 500 companies? They weren't, I assure you. My grandfather, a Black man, has been teaching me about the history of his side of the family. His father owned a farm in Kentucky in the 1930s and 40s until he died. The fact that he owned a farm in Kentucky caused an uproar as it was virtually impossible for a Black man to own property in that time period. Not even a hundred years ago. These men and women weren't going to schools or colleges that truly wanted them to be the best version. Those who were born in the 1960s are truly the first wave of Black men and women who are able to do something with themselves. My father, a Black man, is one of them. That is literally the first generation of Black men and women who are able to truly make something of their own lives, free from the shackles of slavery and segregation. It's easy not to understand because for so many people who are on this forum, they've had a massive headstart against the very set of people you are determined to rail against. 50 years. And we wonder why 40% of them are in poverty. If you don't think that racism is the issue, that the system was built against them from day one and it is a tremendous struggle to overcome poverty as a result of being Black, then I don't know what else to tell you.

corran hornAug 31, 2020

qualified immunity is a hell of a thing, I agree.

crispyAug 31, 2020

Why do they live in the poverty? Is it racism, bad leadership, or culture? I agree there is a lack of education, but money hasn't fixed that problem. I spent years working in social services as a trainer and saw firsthand what was happening. The lack of male role models and strong fathers is a huge issue whether you want to believe it or not in both black and white communities. Boys seek those male role models and if they don't find them at home, they find them on the street. Many of my clients went to prison at a young age and then couldn't find a job once they got out because no one wants to hire an ex-felon. I saw many of my clients wind up back in jail within months because they got pulled back in immediately. Some wound up dead. Was racism the issue? I don't really think so. It is a vicious cycle of poverty, fatherlessness, lack of education, and hopelessness. Unfortunately, these cycles continue because so many leaders don't want solutions. Issues win elections, solutions don't. I don't blame an NBA star for not wanting to tackle these issues, but it is really irresponsible to glorify someone like Jacob Blake (who was wanted for 3rd degree sexual assault) and demonize the police. Where is the outcry about the deaths of Tamarriss Bohannon and David Dorn? Once again, it is slacktivism and virtue signaling that harms the black community more than it helps it.