ESPN Wide World of Sports- HUGE Disney World Sports Complex

ESPN Wide World of Sports has been in business over 27 years and in that time has hosted more than 70 different sports from more than 70 countries at Walt Disney World.

The ESPN Wide World of Sports hosts Disney Soccer, Disney Spring training, and is the premier location for amateur sports. This includes hundreds of tournaments for youth athletes that get the chance to experience what it is like to play in a professional venue and be treated like professional athletes.

I visit Walt Disney World frequently and recently toured the entire ESPN Wide World of Sports going behind the scenes of all the arenas and production center to learn how this amazing complex serves athletes and provides magical experiences. Keep reading for the full overview of the ESPN Wide World of Sports including details on how to visit and tips for parents of athletes!

What is the ESPN Wide World of Sports?

Playing at the ESPN Wide World of Sports is the experience of a lifetime for those in youth sports. Not only do youth athletes compete here but this facility also hosts a variety of spring training for MLB players. This is also the location of the famous runDisney Health & Fitness Expo where all runners go to pick up their racing gear and shop before their big race.

The ESPN Wide World of Sports is a 220-acre facility featuring multiple competition venues, including 16 baseball/softball fields; a 9,500-seat stadium; a state-of-the-art indoor arena in addition to two field houses for basketball, volleyball, eSports and other indoor sports; and 17 multi-purpose outdoor fields for soccer, football and field hockey. The sports complex has a track and field facility and a cross-country course.

Anyone can visit the ESPN Wide World of Sports! This can be a great opportunity to view games, training, and tournaments during your trip.

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Admission to ESPN Wide World of Sports

For Guests who are not athletes or coaches participating in an event, an admission fee is required for entrance into ESPN Wide World of Sports.

Guests interested in recreation and sports options at Walt Disney World can do so easily by upgrading their regular park tickets to a Water Park & Sports ticket option. The Water Park & Sports option includes the choice of these extra experiences:

• Blizzard Beach Water Park
• Typhoon Lagoon Water Park
• Admission to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
• 1 round of mini golf at Fantasia Gardens (must be played before 4:00 pm)
• 1 round of mini golf at Winter Summerland (must be played before 4:00 pm)
• 1 round of golf at Oak Trail par 3 course

How many of these experiences you select depends on the length of your ticket. So for example, if you have a 6-day Water Park and Sports ticket, then you’d get 6 choices of experiences from this list. And yes, you can repeat experiences!

Read more about Walt Disney World ticket options in our discount guide.

ESPN Wide World of Sports Ticket Price

You can also purchase admission to the ESPN Wide World of Sports individually which might be the best option if you only want to do that one experience from the list above especially for multi-day tickets.

General ESPN Wide World of Sports admission prices are as follows:

• Adults (ages 10+): $19.50
• Children (ages 3 – 9): $14.50

ESPN Wide World of Sports Overview 

Let's breakdown all the facilities offered at the ESPN Wide World of Sports so you can see how truly impressive this sports facility is for athletes to experience.

AdventHealth Arena

This was the first venue specifically designed for cheerleading and dance team competitions, in partnership with Varsity Spirit. This venue has the ability to seat over 8,000 guests! There is also space for performances, warm-ups, and can also be transformed into six regulation basketball courts, six regulation volleyball courts or a space to hold concerts.

The Stadium

The Stadium is a retro-style Major League Baseball ballpark that can host tournaments plus concerts and other gatherings. The display booth features high quality production equipment and the stadium features jumbo screens on par with high quality arenas.

State Farm Field House

This 50,000-square-foot multi-sport indoor arena can accommodate any indoor sport that does not require ice. This includes basketball, wrestling, gymnastics, volleyball, martial arts, team handball, roller hockey, cheerleading and dance, trampoline and tumbling, indoor tennis, etc., in addition to concerts and conventions.

Athletic Center

The Athletic Center includes space for six college-size basketball courts, or 12 regulation-size volleyball courts, or two roller hockey rinks, and four locker rooms, two conference rooms and two officials’ rooms.

Marathon Sports Fields

The Sports Fields venue can accommodate a variety of outdoor sports including soccer, football, lacrosse, baseball, field hockey, rugby, softball, cricket, etc.

Baseball Quadraplex / Softball Complex

This area features four professional baseball fields and a half field. The quad annually hosts MLB players during spring training!

Track & Field Complex

This Track and Field Complex meets IAAF world governing body standards and measurements, and is consistent with Olympic T&F venues throughout the world.

Production Center

The Production Center is a 2,500 square foot state-of-the-art facility with two full ESPN control rooms, eight edit bays, a full production studio with customizable graphics and lighting and uplinks to ESPN in Bristol, Conn., Los Angeles and New York.

This is such an impressive part of the ESPN Wide World of Sports. It features 56 high-definition cameras (42 robotic, 10 handheld and four studio) and 40 high-definition video screens, including 3 jumbo screens that can capture and display footage, event highlights and interviews that will broadcast throughout the complex and on various Disney and ESPN platforms.

Youth athletes receive clips of their games along with highlights of their individual moments which can easily be used for college recreation. This is also how families of players from anywhere in the world can view their games. This production dedication is amazing for youth athletes to experience and especially those in women's sports.

ESPN Wide World of Sports Grill

The ESPN Wide World of Sports Grill features a casual restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. The restaurant contains a full bar and menu items include burgers, pizza, signature sandwiches and salads, along with a variety of desserts and beverages.

There are also concession stands available throughout the complex so athletes are never too far from food options!

ESPN Clubhouse Shop

And of course, guests can enjoy shopping at the ESPN Clubhouse Shop. Athletes can find their customized team apparel here plus a wide variety of merchandise with the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex logo on it.

runDisney Health & Fitness Expo

The ESPN Wide World of Sports is also the location for the popular runDisney Health & Fitness Expo. This is where all runDisney weekends start. This is the location where all participants pick up their race bibs and get the chance to shop exclusive merchandise, check out vendor exhibits, enjoy specialty food options and learn about future runDisney events.

The runDisney events typically take place in three different locations at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex:

• AdventHealth Arena- official runDisney merchandise
• Athletic Center- exhibitor merchandise and booths
• StateFarm Field House- challenge area sign ups, PhotoPass, future event info

Read more about runDisney events in our guide to upcoming races plus read our most recent review of our last Walt Disney World runDisney race.

Tips for Parents- How to Navigate ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex

For parents of youth athletes, the chance to visit the ESPN Wide World of Sports may be intimidating at first due to the scale of the complex. We have the best tips to make your experience, and your athletes' experience, amazing.

There are a number of different services offered at ESPN Wide World of Sports for teams and their families can take advantage of.

• Equipment Drops– for some events, teams can drop off their equipment in designated drop zones.
• Team Meals– teams can place orders for meals prior to an event and they will be delivered right to the competition venue.
• Photography– one of the coolest things that ESPN Wide World of Sports offers is full professional photography and video for all athletes. And at no cost!
• Custom T-Shirts– there is a print on demand center where guests can get custom tees designed and pick from more than 50 designs.
• Character Meet and Greets- take advantage of the multiple character meet and greets around in the complex. Some meet and greets will feature characters in special sports outfits!
• Bring The Wagons- we saw plenty of parents utilizing carts and wagons to carry their chairs, snacks, and other equipment around the complex to the fields.
• Bring Food- while the food options are plentiful at the complex, teams and spectators can bring in their own food and drinks including coolers.

If you have an athlete traveling to play at ESPN Wide World of Sports you will have a great experience and your youth athlete will truly feel like a star. For those that want to take in all the major competitions, the ticket rates are pretty reasonable for spectators to attend.