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FEATURE
Sporting
chance
By targeting families and using cross-marketing
and media technology to drive tourism, a sports
complex in Florida is turning a healthy profit.
Could this be the blueprint for Londons Olympic
venues? By Christian Sylt and Caroline Reid.
O
n striding through the giant gates at the entrance
of the Wide World of Sports in Orlando it soon
becomes apparent that this is no ordinary sports
complex. Its tall yellow towers and spotlessly-clean
sweeping archways resemble those found in
Mediterranean towns and give visitors a regal feeling of arrival.
Up close it can be seen that its wrought-iron railings form the
shapes of baseball bats and inside the ballpark clubhouse
even the light fixtures resemble ballplayers.
The same attention to detail is found throughout the
complex, no mean feat given its sprawling size. Its 250 acres
comprise facilities for hosting over 70 types of sports. Theres
an 11,500-seat baseball park, four multi-sports fields, a track
and field complex, a six-field softball complex, 10 tennis
courts and two indoor arenas with the flagship big enough to Wide World of Sports in Orlando is run by sports broadcaster ESPN.
accommodate 12 volleyball courts. The intricate touches give
the game away about its heritage.
It is run by ESPN, a sports broadcaster recently ranked by and amateur oriented. Crucial to this strategy has been the
Forbes magazine as the second most valuable brand in sport with Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), the largest amateur sports
an estimated worth of US$11bn. The complex was the brainchild organisation in the US.
of ESPNs majority owner, the Walt Disney Company and it was The AAU announced its support of the Wide World of
designed by the same people who build Disneys cutting-edge Sports several years before the complex opened in March
theme park rides. Perhaps surprisingly, its purpose was to drive 1997 and even relocated its headquarters to Disney World.
guests to nearby Disney World the worlds most-visited theme It committed to staging more than 30 national events
park complex. If ever there was an example of the power of annually at the venue and it hosts 12 national basketball
sports to drive tourism then the Wide World of Sports is it. events alone there each year as well as others in baseball,
gymnastics, inline hockey, track & field and wrestling.
Amateur
Disney isnt renowned for its investments in athletics but the Talent scouts
Wide World of Sports is at the heart of the business model The top managers and scouts from Americas National
behind its colossal vacation complex in Orlando. With more Basketball Association (NBA) come to the AAU national
than 300,000 athletes competing there annually, this is no championships to recruit the best college talent before each
Mickey Mouse investment. season begins and the same is true with other sports.
There are no cute and cuddly characters in sight at the We have a number of football tournaments that bring
venue and an even bigger surprise comes when the games dozens of teams representing their countries here across a
begin. What makes the Wide World of Sports truly unique is variety of different age groups, says Ken Potrock, senior
that the vast majority of the events staged there are youth vice-president of Disney Sports Enterprises. He adds that they
Timing
Many of the big sports events
are cleverly timed to coincide
with the slowest times of the
year for Disneys parks. In
January, a marathon passes
through the theme parks and
in December Disneys Soccer Competitors can be as
Showcase, the biggest youth football tournament in the US, young as five or six.
The entrance