Editing ESPN Zone (section)

==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/>