Revamp of Wide World of Sports puts ESPN touches in the spotlight

Disney officially rebranded/re-imagined its Wide World of Sports complex yesterday. Now call it ESPN Wide World of Sports. The main entrance sign was changed to reflect this a few weeks ago, but Disney World execs have been emphasizing the point that this is more than changing the sign.

“Walking around here feels like ESPN,” George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN Inc. and ABC Sports, said Thursday.

Here are some things you might notice around the Wide World grounds.

Certainly, there’s visual evidence of ESPN all over, including here along the edge of the dugout of Champion Field. But see that red globe thing attached to the upper deck? That’s one of 42 robotic cameras scattered across Wide World and controlled there (there’s aslo 10 handheld and four studio cams in action). The idea is to capture more of the action across the many athletic fields and show highlights on the big screens, ESPN’s networks and online platforms and even pipe them back into channels in Disney hotel rooms.

Very apparent is the new PlayStation Pavilion, located in front part of the Wide World of Sports Grill. There’s 16 stations and several games to choose from. The idea is here is to occupy participants between events –  it’s what Ken Potrock, senior vice president of Disney Sports Enterprises annoucned as their  “first official wait-buster.”

Later, I asked Potrock what other wait-busters were in the wings, and he again raised the notion of bowling alleys, a concept announced but thus far ill-fated. “We’re working very hard to make that happen,” he told me.

Wide World now offers the Custom Tee Center, where athletics can individualize apparel from their stay here. Some examples were adding the score or the tournament bracket or “We’re No. 1″ to the T. It will be interesting to see how much trash talk is allowed. There are mobile versions of the Tee Center (as seen above), but there’s a permanent one in the grill as well.

New events to look forward to include a stop by the Major League Gaming Pro Circuit, a three-day competition for professional (?!) and amateur video gamers. Disney will also be celebrating the FIFA World Cup with viewings on property. Right now, the confirmed locations are the ESPN Zone at Disney’s BoardWalk and Wide World’s Grill, but we can expect and expansion of that. Potrock says they’re planning “unique experiences.”

Finally, here’s a look at a gold medallion that folks can win at ESPN Wide World of Sports competitions. It’s 3 inches in diameter (and heavier than it looks).