The former ESPN Zone on the westside of Downtown Disney will soon be home to three new storefronts as part of a $3.5 million conversion of the white elephant building that has stood largely vacant and unused for the past six years.
Commercial construction permits filed with the Anaheim Planning and Building Department call for the shuttered sports bar to be divided into two stores on the first floor and another on the second floor.
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Disneyland has not yet announced the new tenants that will be moving into the former ESPN Zone building.
The Anaheim ESPN Zone was part of a chain of theme restaurants with a sports bar and video game arcade similar to Dave & Busters.
Former locations in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, New York City, Washington D.C. and at L.A. Live have all since closed. A similarly-themed ESPN Grill still operates at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Florida.
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The ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney opened in 2001 with the debut of the outdoor shopping mall and Disney California Adventure.
The Downtown Disney restaurant closed in 2018 along with AMC Theaters and Rainforest Cafe in anticipation of a luxury hotel project that was ultimately canceled.
Since the closure, Disneyland has used the two-story, 35,000-square-foot ESPN Zone building for offices, training and special events.
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The area around ESPN Zone has undergone significant change in the years since the sports themed restaurant closed.
The former Rainforest Cafe has been transformed into the Star Wars Trading Post. AMC Theaters was torn down along with the Earl of Sandwich and one of two Starbucks locations at Downtown Disney.
Construction has brought a new Din Tai Fung restaurant, D-Lander Shop and Avengers Reserve shops and westside security plaza to the bulldozed area with a Parkside Market food hall and a new Earl of Sandwich location in the works.
