ESPN may be getting out of the restaurant business.
The cable sports network first opened its ESPN Zone chain of sports bars in 1998. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reported that Walt Disney Co., which is ESPN’s parent company, will be closing all of the ESPN Zones that aren’t located on Disney properties.
That would leave the ESPN Zone at the Downtown Disney shopping center at the theme parks in Anaheim.
The other ESPN Zone restaurants are located in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Times Square in New York City.
ESPN spokesman Rob Tobias would not confirm or deny the report, but he did release a short statement saying: "Since their inception, The Zones have served sports fans very well but from a pure business perspective, the economics have been challenging."
