Disney to build 2nd indoor sports arena
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.
Walt Disney Co. will construct a second indoor multi-sport arena that is more than twice as big as its current one here, officials said Wednesday during a 10th-anniversary celebration for Disney's Wide World of Sports.
The Jostens Center, a 75,000-plus square-foot arena, will feature more than 44,800 square feet of competition space that will accommodate sports such as basketball, volleyball and roller hockey, officials said. The total number of seats for the new arena is still to be determined.
"We have far exceeded our original goals," said Reggie Williams, vice president of Disney Sports Attractions. "And now, with the addition of the Jostens Center, we are uniquely positioned for the kind of future growth and expansion that will allow millions and millions of other kids to compete and train at the highest levels in an environment that is unlike any other in the world."
The building is scheduled to open in fall 2008. The sports complex at Walt Disney World Resort currently hosts more than 180 amateur and professional sports events each year.
The site's current indoor arena, The Milk House, a partnership between Disney and the National Dairy Association, features only 30,000 square feet of competition space.
Amenities at the Jostens Center will include six college-sized basketball courts, 12 regulation-size volleyball courts, two roller hockey rinks.
The title sponsor of the new arena, Minneapolis, Minn.,-based Jostens, produces Super Bowl and graduation rings.