Disney's Master Plan For Orlando: E-Sports And Resorts

(RTTNews) - Walt Disney Co. is planning to host e-sports events at its sprawling leisure complex in Florida.

Disney said it will host e-sports competitions at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. The e-sports will include competitive video gaming and drone racing.

"We are trying to keep up with what sports are breaking and how we can be involved in them. E-Sports is a big one we are looking at and are very excited about it," Faron Kelley, Vice President of Sports at Walt Disney World said.

Disney plans to foray into the rapidly growing e-sports industry. According to accountancy firm Deloitte, e-sports generated $500 million in global revenue in 2016.

In addition to the theme park, the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando has the ESPN Wide World of Sports or WWOS Complex that hosts more than 70 types of sports across a 220-acre plot of land.

The WWOS complex already has a baseball quadruplex, track and field complex, tennis courts, four multi-sports fields, an 11,500-seat bakpark, a six-field softball complex and two indoor arenas. The venues host numerous sports tournaments throughout the year for all ages.

Disney said last year that it will construct an all-new indoor stadium at the complex in order to host various e-sports events in the future. The 300,000 square feet stadium, which will seat 8,000 people, is planned to be opened in January 2018 and will be capable of hosting esports events.

In July, Disney confirmed that it will create a new Star Wars-themed hotel at its Florida resort. The Star Wars hotel will create immersive experiences that will allow guests to be part of their favorite stories by 'living' as a character from the franchise. Guests at the hotel will be able to live out a multi-day adventure in a far-away galaxy.

Disney and ESL earlier announced they will partner to broadcast ESL's E-sports Shows "ESL Brawlers" and "ESL SpeedRunners" on Disney XD. The two series will feature on Disney's DXP summer gaming slot and will each consist of seven, half-an-hour episodes.

The deal marked the first time ESL content arrived to cable TV in the U.S. ESL Brawlers premiered on July 20, 2017, while ESL Speedrunners is set to air in August.