There is another major expansion coming to Walt Disney World, but this time, it won’t affect your time at your resort or at the parks. The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is going to be getting a huge 8,000-seat venue that will be mostly used for cheerleading competitions.
Image via Disney
Construction is set to begin on the gigantic venue sometime in February and it’s going to be completed around the middle of 2017. In all, it’s going to be a venue spanning 286,000 sq. feet with new parking lots and entrances to the ESPN complex.
With more and more cheerleading competitions happening every year at Walt Disney World, this was always just a matter of time away. Not only will the venue have seating for 8,000, but there will be much more including:
- Warm-up locations
- Performance locations
- Room for six regulation volleyball courts
- Six regulation basketball courts
- Configuration possibilities for concerts
It’s already known that Night of Joy will be leaving Magic Kingdom in 2016 and taking place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
New to the complex as well will be concession stands and locations all over the place and another box office so lines won’t be as long as the current one.
“As our sports business continues to grow, we’re thrilled to work alongside Varsity Spirit to create a sporting and entertainment venue that will not only complement our existing venues, but will be a model for cheerleading and dance team competitions,” said Maribeth Bisienere, senior vice president of ESPN Wide World of Sports. “We value our young athletes and want to give these incredible guests an experience that can only be achieved at Disney.”
“Varsity Spirit invented the modern day cheerleading and dance competition, and we are proud to be the force behind this project, which represents our commitment to providing the very best and safest environment in the world for our athletes and coaches,” said Jeff Webb, Founder and Chairman of Varsity Brands. “Since this building has been designed specifically for spirit teams, we can’t wait to provide an even more high quality competition experience to thousands of athletes each year.”
The cheerleading competitions bring tens of thousands of additional Guests to Walt Disney World with each and every single one. The expansion of the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is going to help considerably with crowd control and in giving the cheerleaders a great place to perform.
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