ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
| ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex | |
|---|---|
| Park | Walt Disney World Resort |
| Type | Sports complex |
| Opened | March 28, 1997 |
| Designer | David M. Schwarz
|
| Status | Operating |
The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is a multi-sport complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. Opened on March 28, 1997 as Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, it covers about 220 acres (89 ha) on the southern side of the resort and hosts amateur, youth and professional sporting events throughout the year across nine venues. It took its present name in February 2010, when it was rebranded under the ESPN brand owned by Disney.
History
Disney built the complex, at a cost of about 100 million dollars, on former wetlands near Interstate 4, under the direction of Disney vice president Reggie Williams, a former professional football player who became the founding executive of Disney Sports Attractions. The aim was to establish Walt Disney World as a destination for sports tourism — youth tournaments, amateur championships and professional training — at a time when that market was growing quickly. Construction began in July 1995.
The complex opened on March 28, 1997 with an exhibition baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds; a formal grand opening followed on May 15, 1997. Within weeks the main tennis courts hosted the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships. From 1998 the Braves made the complex's ballpark their spring training home, a relationship that lasted until 2019, when the team moved its spring training elsewhere in Florida.
In 2010 the complex was relaunched under the ESPN name, a change unveiled on February 25 that year, with broadcast production facilities and ESPN branding added throughout, reflecting the network's role in televising events held there. The largest later addition, a multi-purpose arena of more than 8,000 seats, opened in 2018, giving the complex a third indoor venue sized for cheerleading, basketball and other arena sports.
Venues
The complex's ballpark, now known as Champion Stadium and previously sponsored under several names, seats about 9,500 spectators and was the Braves' spring training stadium for over two decades. Indoor sport is centred on three buildings: the State Farm Field House (opened as the Milk House and later known under other sponsors), a field house of about 70,000 square feet used for basketball, volleyball and gymnastics; the Visa Athletic Center, primarily used for basketball and volleyball; and The Arena, the 2018 addition.
Outdoors, the Marathon Sports Fields and further multi-purpose fields host soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and football, while separate diamonds serve baseball and softball tournaments. A track and field complex, a cross-country course through woodland at the edge of the site, and tennis courts complete the original nine-venue layout.
Events
The complex's calendar is dominated by amateur and youth competition. It hosts national events for organisations including the AAU, cheerleading and dance championships, and the long-running Pop Warner football championships and cheer competition held each December. The Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend and other runDisney events use the complex for their race expos and some start and finish functions. International youth soccer, baseball and softball tournaments draw teams from outside the United States, and the complex regularly hosts college and high school championships.
Its best-known professional chapter came in 2020, when major league sport in the United States was reorganised around the COVID-19 pandemic. The complex hosted the MLS is Back Tournament, which restarted Major League Soccer that summer, and the resumption of the 2019–20 NBA season, in which teams were housed at Walt Disney World hotels and played without spectators in the complex's three indoor venues. The NBA Finals were completed there in October 2020. The complex has also hosted the Invictus Games in 2016, founded for wounded and injured service personnel, and occasional professional tennis, boxing and spring training baseball.