View source for ESPN Zone

{{Short description|Defunct theme restaurant chain}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{infobox company
| name = ESPN Zone
| type = [[Division (business)|Division]]
| industry = Restaurant and entertainment
| foundation = {{sda|1998|07|11}}
| founder = Art Levitt
| defunct = {{end date|2018|06|02}}
| location = [[Los Angeles, California]]
| key_people = {{ubl|Art Levitt|(president, [[Disney Regional Entertainment]])|Bill Freeman|(vice president and general manager)<ref name=bs/>}}
| website = 
}}
'''ESPN Zone''' was a [[theme restaurant]] and entertainment center [[restaurant chain|chain]] in the United States that included [[amusement arcade|arcades]], [[TV studio]]s, and [[radio studio]]s, operated by the [[Disney Regional Entertainment]] subsidiary of [[Walt Disney Parks and Resorts]] using the [[Disney]]-owned [[ESPN]] brand. ESPN Zone was founded by Art Levitt on July 11, 1998 and became defunct on June 2, 2018. While the ESPN Zone name is no longer used, the similar [[ESPN Grill]] at [[Disney's Wide World of Sports|ESPN Wide World of Sports]] is located within the [[Walt Disney World]] complex in [[Bay Lake, FL|Bay Lake]], Florida with counter service and light theming. [[ESPN Club]] at [[Disney's BoardWalk Resort]] closed in 2022.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wdwmagic.com/dining/espn-club/news/11mar2022-espn-club-permanently-closes-at-walt-disney-worlds-boardwalk.htm | title=ESPN Club permanently closes at Walt Disney World's BoardWalk to be replaced with the Cake Bake Shop by Gwendolyn Rogers }}</ref>

==Background==
In 1992, Art Levitt conceived of an ESPN/Disney project, while he was Disney Parks and Resorts vice president of resorts and special projects, to increase [[Pleasure Island (Walt Disney World)|Disney's Pleasure Island]]'s attractions. Levitt's concept was "to put an ESPN experience in Disney World". Despite discussions with ESPN, the project was not immediately given the green light. Levitt exited Disney for the CEO post at [[Hard Rock Cafe]] International. The ESPN Club sports bar, at [[Walt Disney World]] with 13,000 square feet of TV screens, was a modest attempt that came from those discussions, and drew enough attendance as a proof of concept.<ref name="bs">{{cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1998/03/08/espns-fun-zone-entertainment-the-first-espn-zone-a-venture-with-disney-promises-to-be-on-the-cutting-edge-of-interactive-sports-entertainment/|title=ESPN's fun zone Entertainment: The first ESPN Zone, a venture with Disney, promises to be on the cutting edge of interactive sports entertainment|date=March 8, 1998|work=Baltimore Sun|pages=1–3|language=en|last1=Arney|first1=June|access-date=February 2, 2017 |archive-date=2017-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201040908/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1998-03-08/business/1998067025_1_sports-entertainment-espn-zone-disney-regional-entertainment/2 |url-status=live}}</ref> The restaurant opened on July 1, 1996, at the [[Disney's BoardWalk Resort|BoardWalk]] entertainment complex.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1996/06/10/espn-steps-up-to-the-plate-with-sports-bar/|title=Espn Steps Up To The Plate With Sports Bar|date=June 10, 1996|work=Orlando Sentinel|publisher=Tribune Publishing|language=en|last1=Shenot|first1=Christine|access-date=February 8, 2017 |archive-date=2017-02-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211081405/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1996-06-10/business/9606061510_1_walt-disney-sports-espn-club |url-status=live}}</ref>

A similar project, Sports Center USA, led by Lynda O'Dea working with [[ESPN on ABC|ABC Sports]], attempted to get started in the early 1990s with its selected first location at Baltimore's [[Pratt Street Power Plant|Power Plant]]. A lack of financing ended this project that was done in conjunction with [[Capital Cities/ABC]], Inc.<ref name=bs/>

==History==
[[Image:EspnZoneBaltimore.JPG|thumb|right|ESPN Zone in Baltimore in 2007]]
With Disney's purchase of [[Capital Cities/ABC]] in 1996, ESPN was a key part of the purchase, which Disney chair/CEO [[Michael Eisner]] then moved into additional brand extensions from biweekly sports magazine, ESPN-themed restaurants, video games to [[Disney Store#ESPN Store|retail stores]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-nov-20-fi-55695-story.html|title=Expansion Team|date=November 20, 1997|work=Los Angeles Times|last1=Mulligan|first1=Thomas S.|access-date=February 7, 2017}}</ref> With Levitt having the original idea in 1992, Eisner turned to him to head up [[Disney Regional Entertainment]], the subsidiary that would start up and run the chain.<ref name=bs/>

The concept was originally called ESPN Grill when announced in October 1997, with a slate of major city locations scheduled to start with [[Baltimore]], Maryland, in mid-1998 and Chicago in spring 1999.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/1997/tv/news/espn-serves-up-grill-1116677873/|title=ESPN serves up Grill|date=October 15, 1997|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|last1=Richmond|first1=Ray|access-date=February 9, 2017}}</ref> ESPN Grill was renamed on December 29, 1997, to ESPN Zone to connote that there was more to the venue.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1997/12/30/power-plant-tenant-renamed-as-espn-zone/|title=Power Plant tenant renamed as ESPN Zone|date=December 30, 1997|work=Baltimore Sun|language=en|access-date=February 8, 2017 |archive-date=2016-03-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311135324/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1997-12-30/business/1997364039_1_espn-zone-disney-regional-entertainment-sports |url-status=live}}</ref> The first ESPN Zone opened in [[Baltimore]], Maryland, on July 11, 1998, in the [[Pratt Street Power Plant|Power Plant]] on the [[Inner Harbor]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1998/07/09/in-the-zone-3/|title=In the zone|date=July 9, 1998|work=Baltimore Sun|publisher=Tribune Publishing|language=en|last1=Gunts|first1=Edward|access-date=February 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203080930/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1998-07-09/business/bal-10th-espnzone_1_gratifying-features-disney-regional-entertainment-espn-cable-network|archive-date=February 3, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Chicago location opened on July 10, 1999, in the North Bridge development where [[DisneyQuest]], a fellow Disney Regional chain, opened a month earlier.<ref>{{cite news|title=Disney's double plans: Disney Regional Entertainment said...|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1999/03/04/disneys-double-plans-disney-regional-entertainment-said/|access-date=October 23, 2017|work=Chicago Tribune|date=March 4, 1999|language=en}}</ref> After the Chicago location opening, there was to be a new location every three months.<ref name=bs/>

===Closures===
[[File:ESPN Zone in New York (4702626143).jpg|thumb|right|ESPN Zone interior in Times Square, New York, in 2010]]
In 2009, Disney Regional Entertainment closed two ESPN Zone locations. A restaurant in [[Denver]] closed in June,<ref name="Den0629">{{cite web|url=http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/19892138/detail.html|title=Denver's ESPN Zone Closed|first=Tyler|date=June 29, 2009|publisher=[[The E.W. Scripps Co.]]|last=Lopez|work=[[TheDenverChannel.com]]|access-date=October 2, 2009}}</ref> and another in [[Atlanta]] closed in October of that year.<ref name="Atl1001">{{cite web|url=http://blogs.ajc.com/peachbuzz/2009/10/01/confirmed-espn-zone-in-buckhead-to-close/|title=ESPN Zone in Buckhead closes|first=Richard|date=October 1, 2009|publisher=[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]|last=Eldredge|work=Peach Buzz|access-date=October 2, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091004002611/http://blogs.ajc.com/peachbuzz/2009/10/01/confirmed-espn-zone-in-buckhead-to-close|archive-date=October 4, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Atlanta location had opened in 2000,<ref name="Atl1001"/> while the Denver location opened in 2001.<ref name="Den0629"/> In both cases, Disney Regional Entertainment cited the "economic environment" as the reason for the closures.<ref name="Den0629"/><ref name="Atl1001"/>
[[Image:ESPN Zone DC.jpg|thumb|left|Now-closed ESPN Zone in downtown Washington, D.C.]]
In June 2010, all but two locations were shuttered, with the remaining restaurants located in [[Southern California]]. As part of the decision by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, through their [[Disney Regional Entertainment]] division, to no longer operate the restaurants in 2010, they sold the rights to operate the location in Anaheim to Zone Enterprises of Anaheim, another Disney subsidiary, and the [[L.A. Live]] location to [[Anschutz Entertainment Group]], which owns the L.A. Live complex.

====Baltimore lawsuit====
Employees at the Baltimore ESPN Zone filed a [[class action]] lawsuit against Disney and its local subsidiary after the 2010 closing, claiming that Disney had violated the [[Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988]]. U.S. federal district judge [[Catherine C. Blake]], in a January 2013 decision, found that Disney and its local subsidiary violated the Act by failing to notify workers of the closing and underpaying them. Disney and the employees settled the lawsuit in November 2013; Disney paid approximately 70 percent of the employees' back pay.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-espn-zone-settlement-20131101-story.html|last=Smith Hopkins|first=Jamie|date=November 3, 2013|work=The Baltimore Sun |title=ESPN Zone workers, employer reach settlement |access-date=June 2, 2018 |archive-date=2020-08-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814231517/https://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-espn-zone-settlement-20131101-story.html |url-status=dead |language=en-US}}</ref>

====Final closures====
The Los Angeles location, housed in the ESPN West Coast headquarters building, closed in July 2013.

In October 2017, Disney announced plans to replace ESPN Zone and other Downtown Disney vendors at the [[Disneyland Resort]] with a [[resort]] hotel (which has since been canceled), in conjunction with the opening of [[Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge]] in 2019. The restaurant closed on June 2, 2018.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ocregister.com/2018/06/01/disney-says-goodbye-to-the-espn-zone-concept-as-the-chains-final-restaurant-closes-in-anaheim/|title=Disney says goodbye to the ESPN Zone concept as the chain's final restaurant closes in Anaheim|last=Fisher|first=Marla Jo|date=June 1, 2018|work=Orange County Register|access-date=June 2, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ocregister.com/2017/10/25/disneyland-cancels-eastern-gateway-project-will-build-new-parking-structure-and-four-diamond-hotel-on-the-west-side-of-the-resort/|title=Disneyland cancels parking expansion on eastern side of park, focuses on new hotel and parking on west side|last=Pimentel|first=Joseph|date=October 25, 2017|work=Orange County Register|access-date=November 7, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Features==
The prototype ESPN Zone was a two-level, 35,000 square foot complex with a [[stadium]]-like design which could hold 550 customers. People could dine at the bar or restaurant area. 200 TV screens were hung from the walls and ceilings. There were two special rooms, a screening room and a 10,000 square foot arena for actual and virtual game play.<ref name=bs/>

ESPN Zone incorporated [[sports news]] into daily operations. Each shift, all staff were to receive daily sports news briefings. [[Placemat]]s would be generated daily as a mini-sports page of a newspaper. The chain was to change its exclusive program, games, and [[memorabilia]] regularly.<ref name=bs/>

===Broadcast facility===
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2017}}
All of the ESPN Zone restaurants were equipped to be [[remote broadcast|remote]] ESPN broadcast locations,<ref name=bs/> though only two were used to house regular series. The Anaheim ESPN Zone was the home of ''Unscripted with Chris Connelly'', from 2001 to 2002. The ESPN Zone in New York City's [[Times Square]] was used as the location of the ''[[Monday Night Football]]'' halftime show for several years. The weekly series ''[[The Sports Reporters]]'' was broadcast from the Times Square location every Sunday morning from its opening until its closing, at which point the show moved to ESPN's home base in [[Bristol, Connecticut]].

Several of the locations also had radio studios, used by the local [[ESPN Radio]] affiliate and leased to other stations on occasion.

==Events==
[[File:2009 ESPN Zone Chicago Ultimate Couch Potato Contestant - Steve Janowski 03.JPG|thumb|left|The 2009 Ultimate Couch Potato Competition at ESPN Zone Chicago]]{{More citations needed section|date=May 2017}}
ESPN Zone hosted the Ultimate Couch Potato Competition, a competitive [[sitting]] competition. In 2009, competitions were held in New York, Chicago and Baltimore. The Baltimore winner, Jessica Mosley, unofficially broke the [[Guinness World Record]] by sitting and watching consecutive sports for an unprecedented 70 hours, and 45 seconds. She repeated as Baltimore champion in 2010.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2010/01/04/champion-couch-potato-repeats-at-baltimores-espn-zone/|title=Champion Couch Potato Repeats At Baltimore's Espn Zone|date=January 4, 2010|work=Baltimore Sun|publisher=Tribune Publishing|language=en|last1=Madigan|first1=Nick|access-date=February 13, 2017 |archive-date=2017-02-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214101824/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-01-04/news/1001030045_1_baltimore-s-espn-zone-espn-representative-hours |url-status=live}}</ref> The 2009 event received attention nationally, as well as from international outlets like the popular Australian television show ''[[Sunrise (Australian TV program)|Sunrise]]''. Jeff Miller, the 2010 winner in Chicago, broke an ESPN Zone record and also unofficially broke the [[Guinness World Record]] by watching 72 hours of non-stop sports and his third win in the competition.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-01-05/news/1001040367_1_ultimate-couch-potato-new-recliner-gift-card|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130907061611/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-01-05/news/1001040367_1_ultimate-couch-potato-new-recliner-gift-card|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 7, 2013|title=Chicago man breaks Guinness World Record for competitive sitting, wins third straight title|date=January 5, 2010|work=Chicago Tribune|publisher=Tribune Publishing|language=en|last1=McNamara|first1=Chris|access-date=February 13, 2017}}</ref>

==Former locations==
[[File:Las_Vegas_New_York10.jpg|thumb|right|The ESPN Zone marquee is visible at the New York-New York Hotel and Casino in the Las Vegas Strip in 2006.]]
* [[4 Times Square]], [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]]
* [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
* [[Downtown Disney]], [[Disneyland Resort]], [[Anaheim]], [[California]]
* [[Pratt Street Power Plant]], [[Inner Harbor]], [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]]
* [[Denver]], [[Colorado]]
* [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]]
* [[New York-New York Hotel and Casino]], [[Las Vegas Strip]], [[Paradise, NV|Paradise]], [[Nevada]]
* [[L.A. Live]], [[Los Angeles]], [[California]]
* [[Thurman Arnold]] Building, [[Downtown (Washington, D.C.)|Downtown]], [[Washington D.C.|Washington]], [[District of Columbia]]

==See also==
* [[Dave & Buster's]]
* [[GameWorks]]
* [[Niketown]], a New York high-tech museum-grade retail project
* [[Planet Hollywood]]
* [[Rainforest Cafe]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.yesterland.com/espnzone.html ESPN Zone] at ''Yesterland''

{{Disneyland Resort}}
{{ESPN}}
{{Walt Disney Parks and Resorts}}

[[Category:Defunct restaurant chains in the United States]]
[[Category:ESPN]]
[[Category:Restaurants established in 1998]]
[[Category:Restaurants disestablished in 2018]]
[[Category:Sports-themed restaurants]]
[[Category:Amusement arcades]]
[[Category:Monday Night Football]]
[[Category:Television studios in the United States]]
[[Category:Disney production studios]]
[[Category:ESPN Radio]]