Sports and Resorts: A Weekend at ESPN Wide World of Sports

The name is an icon around the world. Between its various locations, there could be a creditable claim that every country in the world has had at least one person visit one of its parks.

It is Disney, and one of its flagships is Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Within Walt Disney World, big enough to feel as if you’re in an independent country that is made up of separate little states given its enormous reach and scale, is the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex with 230 acres of facilities hosting thousands of events for athletes.

The numbers themselves can be a bit overwhelming: 16 baseball/softball fields including a 9,500-seat stadium; 17 multi-purpose outdoor fields for soccer, football and field hockey along with a track-and-field facility and cross-country course; two field houses for basketball, volleyball and other indoor sports; and a 5,000-space parking lot to accommodate teams and fans during weekends with multiple events.

The complex, which opened in 1997, says it has hosted athletes from 70 countries and has welcomed 70 different types of sports since its opening more than a quarter-century ago, half-jokingly asking visitors if they can name that many types of sports. During a recent hosted visit on a rainy Presidents Day Weekend, some of those sports were watched, some were experienced first-hand and many other experiences were had.

“We promote ourselves as one of the best sports complexes in the world where you can play on one of the biggest stages,” said Kelly Day, general manager of the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. “You’re in a family-friendly environment and you’re able to take advantage of that and enjoy the parks or Disney Springs or anything else you want to do around the competition. That’s the Disney difference we want to provide for everyone.”

Everything for Everyone

It’s OK if you are a parent who needs to have some time on your own if the kids are going with teammates to explore the entertainment resorts, of which there are almost too many to mention (let alone eat at, with the suggestion that you bring pants with an adjustable waistband).

You can instead enjoy or endure a good walk spoiled times three at either Disney’s Lake Buena Vista, Magnolia or Palm golf courses, not to mention the 9-hole Oak Trail Course. Because while the game itself can be an exercise in frustration, there’s still few things sweeter than hitting a pure iron or driver that screams right down the middle of the fairway, or toward the green, on the exact line that you envisioned it traveling.

Around the rolling green that serves as its own 18-hole putting course is a champion’s pavilion, recognizing those who won PGA Tour events that Disney hosted from 1971 through 2012, highlighted by Jack Nicklaus at the beginning and Tiger Woods in the midst of his professional climb. The Oak Trail Golf Course is modified for more than just golf — it now is available in the afternoons for FootGolf, played with a soccer ball with 21-inch diameter cups for an alternative sport. Think of it as a good short walk instead of a good walk spoiled.

You could also pick a different challenge – that of going out on the open water with a guide for a few hours of fishing, finding a nice spot and enjoying the moment where you feel that little bit of a tug on the rod while in the distance seeing some of the landmarks such as Magic Kingdom or Coronado Springs.

When you go fishing and play golf on a Thursday, the usual conditions are quiet. Not silent, but quiet. Once you head over to the sports complex proper, it becomes anything but. Instead, it’s a cacophony of noise, jerseys of all colors and patterns, umbrellas to try and shield parents from the rain, whistles from the referees and all of the things that make a youth soccer tournament a sensory overload.

On this weekend, the main event is soccer — a Presidents Day weekend event that Disney owns and organizes with over 300 teams from around the country participating. With that large a number, more than just the seven grass playing surfaces and four fields that make up “The Sports Fields” are needed. So whether it was the track-and-field complex, or the baseball quadraplex and softball complex with its multiple fields, or The Stadium itself, a baseball venue that last year hosted the Tampa Bay Rays for spring training and previously hosted Atlanta Braves spring training for 22 years.

And if standing outside in the rain doesn’t sound like your cup of tea and you prefer watching sports indoors? AdventHealth Arena is an 8,000-seat building designed for cheerleading and dance but available for other uses, including on this particular weekend a gymnastics competition. State Farm Field House is perhaps best known for the ESPN Events Invitational college basketball tournament over each Thanksgiving holiday with a smaller capacity for that tournament (5,500) but big enough to configure six full-size collegiate courts plus a host of other events. The multi-sport Athletic Center includes space for six college-size basketball courts or 12 regulation-size volleyball courts.

Given the breadth of the complex, event organizers around the country often bring in major, repeat business. The soccer tournament during the weekend observed first-hand was somewhat unique in that it was a Disney-branded event — although Day insists there is no difference between the two.

“We look at every event as if it needs to be delivered at the highest level whether it’s a client or if it’s internal,” Day said. “What we do with some of our own events is we’re going to be able to brand it and make sure that Disney brand is associated with it. Every event that we host here, we want to make sure is delivered on the highest level. But we do also want to make sure athletes are understanding that connection with the Disney brand.”

From Preps to Pros

This particular weekend was filled with people — on the sidelines, in bleachers, walking around the complex, walking around the parks, everywhere. It’s Disney World, there’s no way to escape people unless you’re alone in your room.

There was a time, of course, when there was action but little to no cheering. It was at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex that two of the first major sporting events in the midst of the pandemic were held, the famous bubble environments to complete the NBA season and the MLS is Back Tournament.

And with the world at that time having little to do and few places to go, how many times did a basketball or soccer fan hear about the venue? The complex received tens of thousands of media mentions. Even now, if you’re a sports fan and you walk into either the State Farm Field House or AdventHealth Arena or walk along the spotlight field among the dozens of soccer spots in the area, it can still bring back memories of those moments.

“We still have people that remember that and it does create some buzz for the complex,” Day said. “It creates the sense of being able to play where the pros have played. Definitely, people still ask about that quite a bit and it does help us get attractions.”

The chance to play where the pros did also can keep relationships going far into the future. The complex announced recently that it will host all 24 AAU boys’ basketball D1 and D2 national title events for ages 7U/1st grade through 19U/12th grade in 2024. The boys’ championship events will take place July 4–11, joining the AAU Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball Memorial Day Classic (May 25–27) which are also played at Disney.

“Since 1997, many of the greatest basketball players in the world have competed in AAU championship events here at Walt Disney World Resort and we’re thrilled to continue that legacy,” said ESPN Wide World of Sports Vice President Adam Ball. “The elite talent, passion and excitement of AAU championships make these events a ‘must-see’ for basketball fans and help reaffirm ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex as the nation’s premier venue for youth athletes.”

Will the complex host multiple professional leagues at the same time in the future? Probably not (and given the conditions it landed those events, that may not be the worst thing?). Will the complex continue to be one of the biggest youth and amateur sports draws in the country? Of course. Between the facilities and the chance to make a weekend of sports into a family vacation, there are few in the world that can position themselves like the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. That’s why it brings in the business that it does, whether you can list seven sports or 70.