World Class Sports Enterprises

WCCW, Inc. (30%)

**World Class Sports Enterprises** is an American multinational media company based in Burbank, California and founded by Bob Chapek and Jack Thompson. Its assets include combat sports and sports entertainment properties (including the MMA promotion TKO Fights, professional wrestling promotions World Class Championship Wrestling and the Indie Wrestling Federation and semi-professional football team Sacramento Surge), sports venues like the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Modsquad Stadium, Sacramento Credit Union Center and Walt Disney World Speedway, a subscription VOD OTT streaming service (IWF Network) and the runDisney program.

World Class is majority-controlled by Chapek via The Walt Disney Company (70%). WCCW, Inc. holds the remaining ownership stake (30%) as part of a condition of their merger with Disney Sports Enterprises.

## History

### Disney Sports Attractions/Enterprises (1994–2021)

Disney Golf facilities date back to the opening of Disney World with two golf courses, the Palm and Magnolia courses. At the time, those courses started hosting the Walt Disney World Open Invitational, an annual PGA Tour event.

In 1994, Disney held the Walt Disney World Marathon, its first road race added additional races later. Disneyland Marathon and 5K were run in 1995 three weeks after the LA Marathon on March 26, 1995.

In 1995, Disney World had IMS Events, Inc. build the original Walt Disney World Speedway. Disney's Wide World of Sports opened in 1997 under executive Reggie Williams.

By 1998, Williams was named vice president of Disney Sports Attractions, overseeing a newly created sports & recreation division. The first 10K Disney Classic race on October 3, 1999, kicked off Disney World's 15-month Millennium Celebration. On March 30, 2003, Sports Attractions held the first Disney Inline Marathon.

On November 21, 2007, Reggie Williams retired as vice president of Disney Sports Attractions. His replacement was named on January 3, 2008, when Ken Potrock was promoted to Senior Vice President, Disney Sports Enterprises. On February 25, 2010, Disney's Wide World of Sports was renamed ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex with some upgrades and new facilities.

On September 25, 2011, Disney started the lease of its five Disney World golf courses (Palm, Magnolia, Lake Buena Vista, Osprey Ridge, and Oak Trail) to Arnold Palmer Golf Management to operate for 20 years while splitting the revenue. As part of the deal, Arnold Palmer would redesign the Palm course. The Orlando market for golf had a glut of course from the building boom then bust making profitability a challenge for any golf course. Disney hoped that Palmer's involvement and "Palmer Advantage" membership club would draw more attention to Disney's course. With the Osprey Ridge course sold to Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts to build a hotel, which was delayed until 2014, the golf management company would run the course until hotel construction begins. While another golf course, the Eagle Pines, was closed several years ago to make way for a residential housing subdivision development called Golden Oak being built in 2011.

In January 2013, Ken Petrock was promoted to Disney Vacation Club and Adventures by Disney senior vice president & general manager while Tom Wolber, Disney Cruise Line senior vice president of operations, was promoted to replace Petrock at Disney Sports. In late June 2015, the Walt Disney World Speedway was shut down.

Sports marketing director Faron Kelley was promoted to vice president of sports in January 2016 and has responsibility for the water parks too. Senior vice president of Disney Springs and the ESPN Wide World of Sports Maribeth Bisienere was promoted to Senior Vice President of Parks in early March 2018. Rosalyn Durant moved over from ESPN to be appointed in February 2020 as senior vice president of operations for Disney Springs, ESPN Wide World of Sports and Waterparks.

In June 2020, Disney announced their intentions to reopen the Walt Disney World Speedway in the near-future with their eye on a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Construction on the facility began in September 2020 and was completed by October 2021 in time for the February 2022 debut of the Magic Kingdom 200 Truck Series race and the Magic of Disney 100 NASCAR eBay Motors Touring Series race. The new speedway was built over the site of the original with new permanent amenities including a main grandstand and infield garages.

### Acquisition of Sacramento Surge, Modsquad Stadium and World Class Championship Wrestling (2017–2021)

In April 2018, the Las Vegas Venom teamed up with World Class Championship Wrestling on a stadium proposal for a parcel of land adjacent to Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, California. The agreement would see World Class Championship Wrestling, Inc. acquire a minority stake in the Venom with an option to acquire full ownership and in exchange, WCCW, Inc. would foot the bill for the construction of Modsquad Stadium located directly next door to the already under construction Sacramento Credit Union Center. A ground breaking ceremony was held in March 2019 with construction lasting three years. The facility opened on May 5, 2022.

In May 2020, Disney Sports Enterprises acquired the Indie Wrestling Federation, although every member promotion would remain independently owned and operated.

Disney announced on May 20, 2021 that they had agreed to a $15 million deal to merge World Class Championship Wrestling, Inc. with Disney Sports Enterprises with the new venture being known as World Class Sports Enterprises.

## Assets

### Sports/sports entertainment

* Indie Wrestling Federation
* runDisney program
* Sacramento Surge (majority ownership stake)
* TKO Fights (majority ownership stake)
* World Class Championship Wrestling ### Sports venues

* ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
* Modsquad Stadium
* Sacramento Credit Union Center
* Walt Disney World Speedway### Streaming

* IWF Network