Both the National Basketball Association and Disney have confirmed that discussions to finish the NBA season at Walt Disney World are underway. The saga of using Walt Disney World and the on-site ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex started as a pipe dream of sorts with a single Yahoo analyst making the case in an article over a month ago. Since then, insiders have said that talks were ongoing to utilize Walt Disney World resorts and the ESPN Wide World of Sport Complex as a perfect “bubble site” to house players and play games to finish the season.
According to NBA spokesperson Mike Bass (via ESPN), Disney and the NBA are in active discussions about the bubble site scenario playing out at The Most Magical Place on Earth.
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 health experts and government officials on a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure that appropriate medical protocols and protections are in place.
A Disney spokesperson confirmed the talks as well, showcasing the partnership that Disney and the NBA have had as part of broadcast deals and more.
The Walt Disney Company has a great, long-standing relationship with the NBA. We are engaged in conversations with them about completing the 2019-2020 season at the ESPN Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World Resort.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com for the latest Disney Parks news and photos. We’ll continue to bring you news and photos, where possible, through the Disney Parks closure due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) and will resume our normal coverage once the parks reopen to guests on July 11th!