This archive report was first published on 24 May 2020.
Published on May 24, 2020, the National Basketball Association (NBA) confirmed that they are in 'exploratory' talks with The Walt Disney Company about a late-July restart at one of their Florida resorts.
According to Mike Bass, the league's spokesman, the NBA is engaged in conversations with Disney officials about restarting the 2019-20 season in Orlando, Florida.
"The NBA, in conjunction with the National Basketball Players Association, is engaged in exploratory conversations with The Walt Disney Company about restarting the 2019-20 NBA season in late July at Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida as a single site for an NBA campus for games, practices and housing," Bass said.
The NBA suspended its season indefinitely on March 11 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
ESPN reported that the NBA has a board of governors virtual meeting set for next Friday, which is expected to provide additional details for players and coaches on plans to proceed with the restart.
Las Vegas has also been mentioned as a potential host, but the 220-acre ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, with three arenas and 24,000 hotel rooms, would allow the league to restart play in a closed-door environment.
Major League Soccer is also looking at using the facility at the same time as the NBA.
