Sports Fans Rejoice - Sports Reopening at Disney World! -

by Adam

on June 17, 2020

Sports fans rejoice! You heard that correct! It has been confirmed that several sports will be starting back up. But what makes this different is that there will be sports reopening at Disney World. This will include 2 major sports that we know of at this point, which are Major League Soccer (MLS) and NBA. These sporting events will look different than a regular-season for several reasons which will be listed for each. The sporting events will likely be televised on either ESPN or ABC but no official word has been made at this point.

When does basketball restart at Disney World?

NBA will reopen on July 31st and will play out with the Finals being played around October 12th. This will also mean a quick turn around for the players as the potential training camps are scheduled to start on November 12th. The games will be helped without any attendance from the fans and will take place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex. It is reported that the 3 arenas can be converted into 20 basketball courts. This will provide multiple games to be played at once and shrink the duration needed. It is unclear why Disney was selected for the restart of the season as the terms of the deal have not been released. However, Disney is one of the NBA’s biggest broadcasters with both ESPN and ABC. It is also unclear if all of the players will be present at the restart of the season.

What does this mean for MLS

For MLS this will mean a much shorter season. The MLS will be back at it on July 8th, 2020 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. As a result of a shorter season, it will include a continuous schedule of 54 total matches. This will include all 26 MLS teams and will be broken up into different groups. Both the Eastern and Western conferences will be broken up into 3 groups each. Firstly, the Eastern Conference will be broken up into 2 groups of 4 teams and 1 group of 6. Secondly, the Western Conference will have 3 groups of 4 teams. The Tournament will start July 25th through July 28th with the Quarterfinals being held from July 30th-Aug 1st. Finally, semifinals will be held between 2 days, August 5th-6th, and the finals held on August 11th.

Will they take over the parks?

Many have voiced concerns that the parks will be overrun athletes and their families causing a smaller chance of other guests being admitted to the park. However, it seems like this is unlikely to be the case. It is reported that with the NBA, staff members and players will not be allowed to visit the parks. Certainly, this is to minimize the risk of exposure which could potentially spread quickly through the other players. They will have separate health screening protocols once on Disney Property compared to the general public. It is unclear where the players and staff will be staying but there are a couple of resorts that seem likely. The Swan and Dolphin are likely to be the resort hosts for the MLS teams but nothing has been confirmed yet.