Disney built the US$100 million facility on former wetlands under the direction of Disney vice president
Reggie Williams. Construction started in July 1995. The complex was built to publicize Walt Disney World, fill hotel rooms, grow sponsorship revenue, and build Walt Disney World's position as a sports destination.
Disney-branded The venue opened on March 28, 1997, with an exhibition baseball game between the
Atlanta Braves and the
Cincinnati Reds. On April 21–27, the main tennis courts hosted the U.S. Men's Clay Court Tennis Championships. A grand opening was held May 15, 1997. The initial build out consisted of nine venues with a 10th, the Olympic velodrome, expected in the third quarter 1997.
Official All Star Café and
Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society. USA Trampoline and Tumbling Championships was held at the complex the weekend of June 7, 1997. A former baseball umpire and an architect alleged that they approached The Walt Disney Company in 1987 with plans for a sports complex, and that Wide World of Sports, which opened 10 years later, was heavily based on their designs. Disney claimed that, while the designs had some similarities, the complex was also similar to numerous other sporting facilities, and the concept of a sports park was too generic for any one group to claim ownership. The two men, represented in part by noted attorney
Johnnie Cochran, sued Disney in
Orange County civil court. In August 2000, a jury returned a verdict for the plaintiffs with damages in the amount of $240 million, a fraction of the $1.5 billion sought. Disney appealed the judgment, and settled out of court in September 2002 for undisclosed terms. With
Planet Hollywood just out of bankruptcy, Disney offered to purchase its All Star Café located here in February 2000 and acquired the lease in March 2000. It became What's Next? Cafe in 2007 before being rebranded as ESPN Wide World of Sports Grill in 2010. In August 2004, 20 acres of additional fields, four baseball diamonds with other multi-use fields, were added under the name of
Hess Sports Fields. Plans for a 100 lane bowling stadium with restaurant was announced for the complex by Disney officials in May 2008. This stadium would be built and operated by a third party and was supposed to completed in 18 months. About 13 United States Bowling Congress tournaments were expected for the facility.
ESPN-branded During an
ESPN the Weekend kick off event on February 25, 2010, the complex was rebranded as the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. It received a massive upgrade, having installed HD video
scoreboards at several venues, a new complex-wide audio system, and a broadcast production facility. New venues and activities at the complex included the PlayStation Pavilion and Custom Tee Center by Champion. Prior to the rebranding in 2007, Disney announced a 450-acre Flamingo Crossings hotel-and-retail development. It would be located near the area for complex visitors and budget-minded Disney World visitors. Shelved due to economic downturn, the project was revived with the 2013 sale of the property to first phase developer JL Properties Inc. of Alaska. An October 16, 2014, groundbreaking took place for the first phase, consisting of two
Marriott International brand hotels which opened in January 2016. From 2006 to 2008, the
Disney Channel Games were held at the complex. Due to actor availability issues, The Disney Channel Games were cancelled in 2009 and onwards. From May 9–11, 2014, a
WNBA pre-season tournament consisting of four teams was held alongside an AAU girls basketball tournament at the complex, with the
Minnesota Lynx winning the tournament over the
Chicago Sky 76–69. While the
Citrus Bowl was under repairs, the
Orlando City Soccer Club played its 2014 home games at the complex. In July 2015, it was announced that the
2016 Invictus Games would be held at the complex. The Invictus Games were held from May 8 to 12, 2016.
Prince Harry,
Michelle Obama, and
Morgan Freeman all spoke at the Opening and Closing ceremony. Over 500 service members were in attendance, along with other notable public figures, including former United States President
George W. Bush and Second Lady
Jill Biden. In early January 2018, The Arena opened at the complex as its third indoor multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena. Also that month,
United States Specialty Sports Association left for the
Space Coast Complex in
Viera, Florida ending its use of ESPN's complex. Since 2017, the Complex is host of the
NFL Pro Bowl activities prior to the game. Besides having open practices for fans, ESPN broadcasts the Pro Bowl Skills Showdown, a series of head-to-head competitions between the players. According to event organizers, over the last four years, the Pro Bowl and festivities surrounding it have generated an estimated $100-million economic impact for Central Florida.
Use as a bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic In May 2020, due to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, there were reports that both
Major League Soccer and the
NBA were in talks with Disney to host the teams to have their respective seasons in the complex. It was then confirmed that the complex would host both leagues. The
2020 Major League Soccer season held the
MLS is Back Tournament, which had three regular season matches for each of the 26 teams as well as a bracket tournament to determine a berth into the
2021 CONCACAF Champions League (for a total of 54 matches), from July 8 to August 11. On August 11, 2020, the
Portland Timbers defeated
Orlando City SC 2–1 to win the tournament. Meanwhile, the
2019–20 NBA season was concluded at the AdventHealth Arena, HP Field House, and the Visa Athletic Center. 22 teams were invited: the 16 teams in playoff position at the time of the season being put on hold due to the pandemic, including the host
Orlando Magic, and the six teams within six games of the eighth and final playoff spot in either conference. The three chosen arenas hosted scrimmages, eight regular season games for each team invited to the
NBA Bubble starting July 30, a play-in mini-series, and the entirety of the
NBA Playoffs and Finals. On October 11, 2020, the
Los Angeles Lakers defeated the
Miami Heat 106–93 to win the best-of-7 series 4–2. In 2021, the
NBA G League reached an agreement to host the
2020–21 season exclusively at the complex. On March 11, 2021, the
Lakeland Magic defeated the
Delaware Blue Coats 97–78 to win the championship. ==Venues==