NBA in talks with Disney to restart season at sports complex in Florida

SHOWS:

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES (FILE - FEBRUARY 15, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

1. INTERIOR UNITED CENTER - TEAM CAPTAIN LEBRON JAMES TAKING SHOT DURING PRACTICE SESSION

2. TEAM LEBRON PLAYER LUKA DONCIC TAKING COURT

3. TEAM LEBRON PLAYERS BEN SIMMONS, RUSSELL WESTBROOK, AND NIKOLA JOKIC TAKING SHOTS

4. TEAM CAPTAIN GIANNIS ANTETOKUONMPO ON COURT DURING PRACTICE SESSION

5. TEAM GIANNIS PLAYERS JOEL EMBIID, DONOVAN MITCHELL, AND TRAE YOUNG ON COURT

6. TEAM GIANNIS DRILL AND EMBIID SHOOTING LAYUP

7. TEAM GIANNIS PLAYER RUDY GOBERT TAKING SHOT

ORLANDO, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (FILE - DECEMBER 6, 2012) (STILL PHOTO-MUTE) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

8. STILL PHOTO OF FIREWORKS GOING OFF AROUND CINDERELLA'S CASTLE AT DISNEY WORLD

ORLANDO, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (FILE - MAY 8, 2016) (STILL PHOTO-MUTE) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

9. STILL PHOTO OF PRINCE HARRY OF WALES (L), FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA AND FORMER FIRST LADY LAURA BUSH (R), APPLAUDING DURING OPENING CEREMONIES FOR THE INVICTUS GAMES AT DISNEY'S ESPN WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS COMPLEX

STORY: The NBA is in talks with The Walt Disney Company about restarting its suspended season at Disney World in Florida in late July after it was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league said on Saturday (May 23).

The potential plan would see the league hold games at a single site, the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, a sprawling athletic complex inside the Orlando resort that has three arenas, hotels and would allow the league to limit outside exposure.

"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 appropriate medical protocols and protections are in place," NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement outlining the plan.

In mid-March, with five weeks remaining in its 82-game schedule, the NBA became the first major North American professional sports league to shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic after a player tested positive for the new coronavirus.

Since then a number of other NBA players in the 30-team league have tested positive, including former league Most Valuable Player Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets.

The NBA playoffs were originally scheduled to begin on April 18 and conclude in June.

More than half of the league's teams have re-opened their practice facilities this month under strict conditions and only in places where local and state governments have given them the green light.

(Production: David Grip)