NBA Provides Updates Ahead of Games Restarting at Disney World!

We’re just a few weeks away from basketball returning to our local stations, as NBA players and staff prepare to head to Walt Disney World.

Alex Martins, CEO of the Orlando Magic, presented at today’s Orange County Economic Task Force meeting to share their plans ahead of the NBA resuming their season at Disney World.

Martins began his presentation by explaining the process by which the NBA decided to resume their season in Disney World. Since the NBA suspended play on March 11th, they have looked at “hundreds” of models that could be adopted to bring the games back.

In evaluating all of the possibilities presented, and prioritizing the health and safety of players, coaches, and staff, Martins said that the NBA determined to bring all of the teams to one single location. The league then selected the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World to be their “campus community,” as Martins describes it.

Twenty-two teams will convene in Disney World on July 7th. There will be 35 people total for each team in an effort to minimize the number of people that will be on the “campus” at Disney World. When they arrive, everyone in the travel parties will quarantine in their rooms for a few days. That will be followed by three weeks of training at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, and games will commence on July 30th.

When the teams arrive, they will stay at one of the following three resorts: Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, or Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.

The games will take place in three facilities: the HP Field House, the VISA Athletic Center, and the Arena. Games will be held all day long on a rotating basis amongst those three facilities. Each game will be televised worldwide through national media partners.

As for the season’s progression, there will be eight seeding, or regular season, games to determine the final standings for playoffs. If the NBA finals go seven games, they will be on the Disney “campus” until October 13th.

In preparation, teams began to convene at their individual practice facilities yesterday. Everyone that will be traveling to Disney World has begun a regular testing regiment and will be tested every other day prior to arrival. Once the teams arrive at Disney World, they will be tested daily. If someone from the league chooses to leave the “campus” for whatever reason, they will be quarantined for “a number of days” before they are allowed to interact with the teams again.

Martins concluded with the exposure this will bring Orange County and Walt Disney World will rival that of the Olympics, not in the level of crowds in attendance, but in the amount of attention this will receive worldwide.

Are you planning on watching these NBA games when the season resumes next month? Let us know in the comments!

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