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The NBA is trying to get back on the court soon and the hope is that a neutral site will be used to house the League’s teams. If that’s the case, it’s looking like Disney World has emerged as the clear frontrunner to finish the season, The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Sam Amick reported Wednesday afternoon.
The NBA has Orlando/Disney World as a clear frontrunner for return-to-play site for resuming 2019-20 season, sources tell me and @sam_amick. Orlando has gained significant seriousness among other cites such as Las Vegas.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 20, 2020
We had known from previous reports that Disney Land and Las Vegas had emerged as the two candidates to help the NBA get back in 2019-20. The coronavirus pandemic shut down the League on March 11 and it is expected that an announcement pertaining to a return will come between June 1-15, also reported by Shams.
Not long after Charania and Amick’s report, we found out that Disney Land is already preparing hotels to house teams. The Wide World of Sports Complex has begun prep to bring back the NBA and possibly the MLS as well, per Yahoo Sports’ Keith Smith.
Walt Disney World has begun the early stages of re-working some of their hotel spaces for housing the NBA and their needs. The Wide World of Sports Complex has also had some work done in anticipation of hosting the NBA and possibly MLS, per Disney sources.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) May 20, 2020