Faron D. Kelley
Vice President, ESPN Wide World of Sports, runDisney and Disney Water Parks
Windermere, Florida

Caring 
Optimistic 
Intuitive 

Twitter: @runfdk

Main Event: 2016 Invictus Games

What I do: I am responsible for the operation and all business aspects of Disney’s sports complex, endurance franchise and two of the most visited water parks in the world.

What I did to assist the sports tourism recovery during COVID: Both Major League Soccer and the NBA entrusted us to be their partner for the restart of their respective seasons. Our site held 223 professional games/matches and over 1,000 practices during a four-month span of time when most venues sat empty. Beginning with the MLS is Back Tournament and continuing with the NBA season restart, playoffs and finals, ESPN Wide World of Sports carved its place in history during this tumultuous time in sports.

Impressive stats: During the summer of “The Bubble,” ESPN Wide World of Sports accomplished a number of feats that are remarkable for any sports facility:

• Most consecutive days of professional soccer in a single site: 35 MLS matches over 15 days (July 9-23)
• Most professional sporting events held at a single site in a single day: 8 (7 NBA games and 1 soccer match July 11)
• Most professional basketball games held at a single site in a single day: 7 games on 3 dates (July 9, 11 and 13)
• Most consecutive days of professional sports at a single site: 31 NBA games over 16 days (Aug. 29-Sept. 13)
• Most MLS matches held in a single site in a single season: 51 matches
• Most NBA games held in a single site in a single season: 172 games

What’s next? We are excited to host the Department of Defense Warrior Games.

Favorite sports movie: “Field of Dreams”

Favorite athlete of all time: Peyton Manning