Orlando steps into sports spotlight
Region hosting MLS, NBA during pandemic
Central Florida is a tourism magnet, but it has never had a sports moment quite like this one.
NBA teams are checking into Disney World resorts this week, joining Major League Soccer teams seeking a secure location to resume their seasons amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Orlando City will kick off the return of men’s professional team sports in the United States when
it faces off with Inter Miami at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Wide World of Sports on Disney World property. The match will air on ESPN, one of many chances for the Central Florida region to be showcased on national television from July through October.
“The media value associated with hosting MLS for its tournament and the remainder of the NBA regular season and playoffs eclipses the media value of hosting a Summer Olympics,” said Jason Siegel, president and CEO of the Greater Orlando Sports Commission.
Out of a pandemic nightmare that shut down sporting events and tourism opportunities, Orlando landed the highest profile events possible this summer that will face little competition for sports fans’ attention.
But it has not been easy to dodge the coronavirus threat.
Florida set a weekly record for new COVID-19 cases Sunday and has 213,794 cases to date, while
Central Florida has 35,277 cases.
On Monday, five Central Florida hospitals hit ICU capacity, but officials said the region still has hospital beds available.
While some NBA and MLS coaches and players have raised loud concerns about Florida’s spike in COVID-19 cases, the biggest problems the leagues have faced so far is getting teams into its secure Orlando area hotels and training facilities.
FC Dallas was removed from the MLS is Back Tournament after 10 players and one staff member tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after arriving in Orlando. The group was isolated from all other teams at the Swan and Dolphin Resort.
Nashville SC had five players test positive and another four have registered inconclusive tests shortly after that team reached Orlando. Nashville may be removed from the MLS tournament as well.
MLS teams have delayed travel to Orlando due to positive test results in their home markets.
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At least five NBA practice facilities around the country were shut down after testing revealed positive results. The Orlando Magic declined to name one player who tested positive for COVID-19 and is expected to eventually join the rest of the team inside the NBA bubble.
Both leagues have worked with panels of infectious disease experts and are pairing testing with hygiene best practices that include constant wearing of masks, maintaining social distance and frequent hand washing. They are confident they are providing as safe of an environment as possible for players and staff.
“We know that COVID-19 will be with us for the foreseeable future, and we are left with no choice but to learn to live with this virus,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “No options are risk-free right now. As we’ve seen with millions of people losing their jobs and their healthcare, shutting down the economy is also a big risk, just as reopening without appropriate safeguards is one, too.
“So the challenge before us as a society and as an industry is to find a safe and responsible way to operate. Because we cannot yet eliminate the risk of infection, establishing this new normal is not easy and requires a thorough plan and acknowledgment that the alternatives are far from perfect.”
Both leagues have pledged to donate tests to avoid being a burden to the Central Florida community and stress their measures are intended to keep everyone safe, including hotel and transportation workers.
When asked if he felt comfortable after spending 12 days inside the MLS bubble, Orlando City coach Oscar Pareja responded Tuesday, “It’s a great question because that … gives me [an] opportunity to congratulate all the players that are here [and] the coaches that are committed with this project. … It’s not easy. Major League Soccer has put this together in order to give … the game back to [fans] … because they need it.
“… We are proud of Major League Soccer. We want to show our game to the world and we’re committed to [doing] that.”
The NBA has invested $150 million to stage the remainder of its 2019-20 season during a three-month span.
Orlando Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said Tuesday he has no doubt the league has done everything necessary to be successful.
“I have been very optimistic about this for quite a while now, only because I just know the length and the extent to which the NBA has relied upon experts and tried to leave no stone unturned,” he said. “I can tell you that it’s truly a momentous undertaking what they’ve put together here and I think that as the details have been unrolled to the players and to the rest of us involved with this operation, the confidence has only grown. And now being here, I can tell you that obviously they’ll be the first ones to say that they’re going to have to adjust and everything’s fluid and they stand ready to change on the fly, but it’s unbelievable the amount of precautions and layers of safety they’ve taken to make this work.”
If there is community spread inside the bubbles and leagues have to shut down play, it unquestionably would be a setback for the host city.
But Orlando area leaders are sure Disney, NBA, MLS and local tourism industry employees are doing everything necessary to stage successful games. If all goes well, Siegel said it could help bolster Orlando’s bid to host 2026 World Cup games that are expected to bring international fans and a major economic boost.
“We certainly have a tremendous portfolio of marquee events that Orlando has hosted going back as far as the World Cup in 1994, but this is big,” Siegel said of the NBA and MLS games. “For the two commissioners of the NBA and MLS to have the confidence in our community to host these prestigious events speaks volumes of our community, ESPN Wide World of Sports and the Disney Corporation.”