NBA at Walt Disney World

[rteetz]

Yeah there are 17 soccer/football fields at ESPN. Some even have football yardage lines already painted on them full time.

However they are mainly used for youth or high school football. Not conditioned for NFL football. Not saying it couldn’t happen but I see the chances of such near zero more for the logistics as a resort, the money, and CBA requirements. Was a much easier thing for MLS and NBA.

 

[skeeter31]

However they are mainly used for youth or high school football. Not conditioned for NFL football. Not saying it couldn’t happen but I see the chances of such near zero more for the logistics as a resort, the money, and CBA requirements. Was a much easier thing for MLS and NBA.

Oh I agree it’s a very, very long shot. I just saw people saying there’s no fields in Orlando other than UCF or going to Tampa for Raymond James or USF, and that’s technically not true. They could do some work and probably make 10 or so useable NFL fields at ESPN if they wanted/had to.

I don’t think any of us ever thought we’d see NBA courts in the convention centers of resorts either, but desperate times can lead to desperate measures.

But I do agree that there are way too many holdups to the NFL actually coming to Disney.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Oh I agree it’s a very, very long shot. I just saw people saying there’s no fields in Orlando other than UCF or going to Tampa for Raymond James or USF, and that’s technically not true. They could do some work and probably make 10 or so useable NFL fields at ESPN if they wanted/had to.

I don’t think any of us ever thought we’d see NBA courts in the convention centers of resorts either, but desperate times can lead to desperate measures.

But I do agree that there are way too many holdups to the NFL actually coming to Disney.

Two huge positives Disney has...

MLS, which will be done in 11 days, worked 100%, after they got through the initial quarantine phase.
NBA, which is still only a few weeks old, is working, after it got through the initial quarantine phase.

So, 2 wildly different sports, 1 indoor and 1 outdoor, have been together at almost the same times, and Disney has gotten them going, and in MLS's case, almost through the whole sporting event. And EVERYONE has learned from early mistakes and new situations.

So, at Disney, no one remakes the wheel. Disney already has a plan for x number of people and x games for transport, practice, food, tv presentation, etc...and they've also employed all the support people ready to do the work...

This might be priceless...

 

[Farro]

Two huge positives Disney has...

MLS, which will be done in 11 days, worked 100%, after they got through the initial quarantine phase.
NBA, which is still only a few weeks old, is working, after it got through the initial quarantine phase.

So, 2 wildly different sports, 1 indoor and 1 outdoor, have been together at almost the same times, and Disney has gotten them going, and in MLS's case, almost through the whole sporting event. And EVERYONE has learned from early mistakes and new situations.

So, at Disney, no one remakes the wheel. Disney already has a plan for x number of people and x games for transport, practice, food, tv presentation, etc...and they've also employed all the support people ready to do the work...

This might be priceless...

Be careful! It may work out so well all sports will be played there for the rest of time!

 

[nkosiek]

Two huge positives Disney has...

MLS, which will be done in 11 days, worked 100%, after they got through the initial quarantine phase.
NBA, which is still only a few weeks old, is working, after it got through the initial quarantine phase.

So, 2 wildly different sports, 1 indoor and 1 outdoor, have been together at almost the same times, and Disney has gotten them going, and in MLS's case, almost through the whole sporting event. And EVERYONE has learned from early mistakes and new situations.

So, at Disney, no one remakes the wheel. Disney already has a plan for x number of people and x games for transport, practice, food, tv presentation, etc...and they've also employed all the support people ready to do the work...

This might be priceless...

The one negative is this: NFL owners are the worst. They'd never agree to it, forget the NFLPA. THe more I think about how much smarter it would be to bubble, the more likely I am to think the NFL is too greedy and stupid to do it.

 

[afan]

The one negative is this: NFL owners are the worst. They'd never agree to it, forget the NFLPA. THe more I think about how much smarter it would be to bubble, the more likely I am to think the NFL is too greedy and stupid to do it.

If they were going to do a bubble we'd have already heard discussion about it. They can't even get training camp to start on time. Plus just because they are in a bubble doesn't mean none of them would break it. NBA and NHL aren't doing the entire league so it's also not the same.

The teams could create their own bubble with underatandings of how it works. NFL teams, if they don't own their own plane and contract it out probably already have the same flight crew each week. It's easy if they play by the rules. But as we've seen with the Marlins, allegedly from what I've read, that the 1st 2 positive cases is because they broke their team bubble and went out when they were in ATL. Nothing stopping anyone from doing it in a bubble at wdw or vegas etc.

 

[Mit88]

Football in a bubble is a dream scenario at best. There are just too many components. Too many egos to confine in a bubble. Ask the NBA if they’d do the bubble if it were an entire season and not just the chase for the championship, I guarantee the percentage of “No” would be in the 90th+ percentile throughout the league. Which becomes concerning since the NBA is supposed to start their next season in December. Still a ways off, but we don’t know what will happen next week let alone 4 months from now. Could be worse. Could be about the same. Could be better. We don’t know.

Football games on an open soccer field isn’t going to convince players

 

[TwoMisfits]

Football in a bubble is a dream scenario at best. There are just too many components. Too many egos to confine in a bubble. Ask the NBA if they’d do the bubble if it were an entire season and not just the chase for the championship, I guarantee the percentage of “No” would be in the 90th+ percentile throughout the league. Which becomes concerning since the NBA is supposed to start their next season in December. Still a ways off, but we don’t know what will happen next week let alone 4 months from now. Could be worse. Could be about the same. Could be better. We don’t know.

Football games on an open soccer field isn’t going to convince players

NBA is already talking about a bubble next season, so the players are hearing reality...

And the NFL could bubble b/c its season is so short and could be shorter - 10 games plus 2 weeks is 12 weeks total for 1/2 the teams (and that assumes a 16 team playoff, 8 per conference)...and even then, the playoffs only add on another 6 weeks (if you count 2 bye weeks).

 

[Mit88]

NBA is already talking about a bubble next season, so the players are hearing reality...

And the NFL could bubble b/c its season is so short and could be shorter - 10 games plus 2 weeks is 12 weeks total for 1/2 the teams (and that assumes a 16 team playoff, 8 per conference)...and even then, the playoffs only add on another 6 weeks (if you could 2 bye weeks).

NFL depends on ad revenue more than any other sport. There’s a reason they want to cut from the preseason and add to the regular season. They might add to the playoff field, but they definitely wont reduce the amount of regular season games. What you’re listing off are all dream scenarios for the fans. The owners or the players wont go for it. The owners want $, the players want freedom. The only way they play this season is in their own stadiums. Hope for the best that the players can control themselves from urges for the season

 

[Mit88]

DirecTV is paying the NFL 1.5B dollars a year for Sunday Ticket.

16 game schedule
461 games (accounts for no prime time Thurs/Sun/Mon games)
$3.25M per game

10 game schedule
290 games (assuming they stay with the 3 prime time games a week)
$5.17M per game

Is the NFL going to refund DirecTV the almost $2M per game or $342M in total that they’re paying for, but not receiving? That’s an argument that would need to be hashed out, but doubtful it would be able to be in the next month.

 

[TwoMisfits]

DirecTV is paying the NFL 1.5B dollars a year for Sunday Ticket.

16 game schedule
461 games (accounts for no prime time Thurs/Sun/Mon games)
$3.25M per game

10 game schedule
290 games (assuming they stay with the 3 prime time games a week)
$5.17M per game

Is the NFL going to refund DirecTV the almost $2M per game or $342M in total that they’re paying for, but not receiving? That’s an argument that would need to be hashed out, but doubtful it would be able to be in the next month.

When they run no games, it will be an even bigger refund. Like Disney opening the parks, sometimes you cut the losses and take what circumstances allow vs taking a $0...

 

[gottalovepluto]

Two huge positives Disney has...

MLS, which will be done in 11 days, worked 100%, after they got through the initial quarantine phase.
NBA, which is still only a few weeks old, is working, after it got through the initial quarantine phase.

So, 2 wildly different sports, 1 indoor and 1 outdoor, have been together at almost the same times, and Disney has gotten them going, and in MLS's case, almost through the whole sporting event. And EVERYONE has learned from early mistakes and new situations.

So, at Disney, no one remakes the wheel. Disney already has a plan for x number of people and x games for transport, practice, food, tv presentation, etc...and they've also employed all the support people ready to do the work...

This might be priceless...

The other thing Disney has going for it is no one can say “well FL didn’t have widespread COVID”.

And Marriott gets to put a feather in its cap for anything considering a quarantine- doesn’t even have to be in FL- as it ran the hotel for MLS.

 

[laugard]

NFL depends on ad revenue more than any other sport. There’s a reason they want to cut from the preseason and add to the regular season. They might add to the playoff field, but they definitely wont reduce the amount of regular season games. What you’re listing off are all dream scenarios for the fans. The owners or the players wont go for it. The owners want $, the players want freedom. The only way they play this season is in their own stadiums. Hope for the best that the players can control themselves from urges for the season

The majority of players aren't stars, children, nor wild individuals unable to control their "urges." The challenge (when it comes to freedom) isn't that NFL players can't control their behavior. It's simply that there is more of them, and more buy-in required. Yes, there are players who might not adhere or be able to resist temptation. As there would be with any group of athletes or non-athletes that size. There have been players who couldn't avoid getting in trouble even for a week or two in Miami or New Orleans while preparing for the Super Bowl. But that's individuals, not the majority of the players there for the game. I'm not saying I think a bubble would work. I just think your assumptions and portrayal of professional athletes is rather broad and inaccurate.

 

[KBoopaloo]

DirecTV is paying the NFL 1.5B dollars a year for Sunday Ticket.

16 game schedule
461 games (accounts for no prime time Thurs/Sun/Mon games)
$3.25M per game

10 game schedule
290 games (assuming they stay with the 3 prime time games a week)
$5.17M per game

Is the NFL going to refund DirecTV the almost $2M per game or $342M in total that they’re paying for, but not receiving? That’s an argument that would need to be hashed out, but doubtful it would be able to be in the next month.

While I think the bubble is probably unlikely for the NFL for a million reasons, you could ask the same question about whether they’d have to refund DirectTV if the whole season gets shut down in week 2. The MLB Commissioner had a call with the MLBPA this afternoon and told them the players need to get their act together and follow the guidelines or else they may have to shut the whole thing down - finishing the season is far from a certainty for MLB at this point.

Like I said, I am also doubtful that an NFL bubble happens but I can’t imagine there isn’t some conversation happening about the possibility behind closed doors.

 

[gatour]

The NFL is mostly about TELEVISION revenues, however they like to push LOCAL revenues when requesting tax dollars for stadium improvements to keep up with the Jones (pun intended).

Using fields at Disney is possible, but how would the TV experience be? It would like watching High school football. I.E sideline cameras and a few shots from on high.

I won't go into how the fields may be torn up with multiple games being played within the same week. I live in a NFL city, and over the years there have been complaints if even a concert occurred within the last week.

At this stage using, college stadiums is a non-starter. Most of the major conferences have gone to a 10 game in-conference plan with a later start date. This is to give them a possibility to pivot if they need to postpone a particular game to a later date. I don't think they would be willing to commit to the NFL to give up a particular date.

 

[Mit88]

The majority of players aren't stars, children, nor wild individuals unable to control their "urges." The challenge (when it comes to freedom) isn't that NFL players can't control their behavior. It's simply that there is more of them, and more buy-in required. Yes, there are players who might not adhere or be able to resist temptation. As there would be with any group of athletes or non-athletes that size. There have been players who couldn't avoid getting in trouble even for a week or two in Miami or New Orleans while preparing for the Super Bowl. But that's individuals, not the majority of the players there for the game. I'm not saying I think a bubble would work. I just think your assumptions and portrayal of professional athletes is rather broad and inaccurate.

I actually spent a lot of time with Colorado Rockies players when I lived out in Denver working at the bars downtown. Some Bronco’s players as well.

(I see you edited the part about me not having spent a lot of time around pro athletes and now this above sentence makes me sound like a bragger)

But you need 100% compliance in this situation. You cant have individuals breaking quarantine to go out and party. It doesn’t matter what the 48 homebody’s do when 4 players that cant go without going to the club for 3 months are doing what they’re not supposed to be doing. If you think all 2,000 NFL players/personnel/coaches etc. are going to be on their best behavior without a strict bubble, then you’re being a little naive.

Just 1 player with urges could potentially ruin it all.

 

[Mit88]

While I think the bubble is probably unlikely for the NFL for a million reasons, you could ask the same question about whether they’d have to refund DirectTV if the whole season gets shut down in week 2. The MLB Commissioner had a call with the MLBPA this afternoon and told them the players need to get their act together and follow the guidelines or else they may have to shut the whole thing down - finishing the season is far from a certainty for MLB at this point.

Like I said, I am also doubtful that an NFL bubble happens but I can’t imagine there isn’t some conversation happening about the possibility behind closed doors.

I’m sure there are a lot of options on the table, just like with any business during these times. Some are more likely than others. Bubble-season without any significant rumors of the possibility just over a month away from week 1 means its not in the “more likely” category.

 

[OnceUponATime15]

Celtics - Bucks in 20 minutes!

Way back I was a diehard Celtics fan, still root for them.. when my Raptors aren’t playing! lol.

 

[Mit88]

Celtics - Bucks in 20 minutes!

Way back I was a diehard Celtics fan, still root for them.. when my Raptors aren’t playing! lol.

Miserable Knicks fan here. Anyone but the Nets, please. Pelicans/Blazers/Mavs are my preferences to win it all. I like a good NBA underdog story

 

[OnceUponATime15]

Miserable Knicks fan here. Anyone but the Nets, please. Pelicans/Blazers/Mavs are my preferences to win it all. I like a good NBA underdog story

Being from Toronto I get the whole sports misery thing. Leafs are into their 5th decade since being a championship team
Blue Jays around 20 years.

Thankful for last seasons Raptors — we needed a good celebration! Long overdue!