LOS ANGELES - The NBA confirmed what's been reported on and
speculated about for the past week - that the league, along with the
players union - are in discussions to restart the NBA season in
Orlando, Florida, later this year.
In a statement Saturday, NBA spokesman Mike Bass said the league and
players are engaged in "exploratory conversations" with Walt Disney
Co, about restarting the season in late July at Disney's ESPN Wide
World of Sports Complex in Florida as a single site.
In the statement, the NBA referred to the Orlando site as a "campus"
that would contain "games, practices and housing."
"Our priority continues to be the health and safety of all involved,
and we are working with public health experts and government
officials on a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure that the
appropriate medical protocols and protections are in place," Bass
said.
The plan to resume play is still fluid, with teams unsure who will
actually be required to participate. While there's still a desire to
play as many games as possible by bringing all of the league's 30
teams back, there are also concerns about forcing a team well out of
the playoff hunt to go through strict quarantine and testing
procedures during a month of training only to play a handful of
games.
In recent weeks, the idea that a more select group of teams would
return has gained momentum, though the mechanics of that are still
iffy. The NBA could bring back only the 16 teams that would qualify
for the playoffs based on their current records. It could also
conduct some sort of play-in tournament for the final spots in the
playoff picture.
Disney World has more than 25 hotel options on property, with eight
classified as "deluxe" on the company's website. Calls to Walt Disney
World for comment were not returned.
Orange County, where Orlando is located, has had 1,744 confirmed
coronavirus cases resulting in 38 deaths, according the Johns Hopkins
University Covid-19 tracker.
Disney owns ABC and ESPN, two of the league's top three broadcast
partners.
The Wide World of Sports campus has three buildings that can be used
for basketball, including a pair of indoor arenas and a multi-use
space.