Right now, aside from a skeleton crew of Cast Members keeping up attraction maintenance, taking care of animals, and keeping landscaping in tact, Disney Parks across the world have sat empty for over a month now. And while discussions are ongoing about when (and how) theme parks in the US can reopen once the imminent danger from the COVID-19 Pandemic has passed, there’s no way to know exactly how much longer these closures will continue.
And while it may be months before guests can return to the theme parks, there may be another use being proposed for the Walt Disney World resort in the near future that has nothing to do with rides, characters, or even guests!
Walt Disney World floated as possible location for continuing NBA games
In a recent Yahoo Sports piece, commentator Keith Smith suggested that Walt Disney World could be the perfect place for the NBA to finish out its current season, which (like everything else) has been put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Smith’s analysis, games could be played at the ESPN Wide World of Sports facility, while players, coaches, and a small amount of essential staff use the nearby resorts as lodging.
All players, staff, etc. would need mandatory COVID-19 testing of course in order to participate, and would have to stay on Walt Disney World property at all times so they could form a contained bubble within private Disney property.
Florida’s relationship with professional sports
In addition to Walt Disney World’s ability to keep NBA players and staff sequestered, Florida may be a good logistical choice to host special games, as Florida has shown itself to be very friendly to professional sports organizations, recently declaring the WWE an “essential business” so that tapings of shows could continue (without an audience, of course). With this in mind, Florida may be in a unique position to offer the NBA the same consideration it gave the WWE to continue playing under strict guidelines.
However, while hosting NBA games at Walt Disney World may sound like a good idea in theory, some executives haven’t been very excited by this prospect…
Executives are not exactly jumping at this idea
Though hosting NBA games at Walt Disney World sounds like a good idea in theory and would be of mutual benefit to both Disney and the NBA, a recent statement was released by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver who said that “bubble-like concepts” to continue the NBA season, while they may be interesting, have only been listened to at the moment and the NBA isn’t “seriously engaged” yet in conversations about continuing the NBA season in this way.
Echoing this sentiment was Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger, who was in attendance at a recent NBA owners meeting, and stated that the emphasis for Disney at this point involves looking at the data, and not any potential dates for reopening or scheduling any events.
Unfortunately it looks like no decisions will be made on the 2019-2020 NBA season this month, and sadly for basketball fans, that could mean that the current season has most likely already ended. However, as the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, anything could be possible in the future, and we’ll be keeping an eye out for any more news from the NBA about special events or games that could be held at Walt Disney World while the resort remains closed.
As always, while this situation is evolving, all travelers should check out the CDC’s official site here, which has information on the virus and how to prevent its spread.
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