ESPN's Cup -- And Dishes -- Runneth Over

(From The Hartford Courant -- By Eric Gershon)

For 28 years, ESPN basically has kept its ever-expanding campus just to the Bristol side of the city's boundary with Southington.

Starting with a 20,000-square-foot building on 4 acres in 1979, the cable sports network has since grown to include
10 major buildings and 100 acres.

Its biggest building yet -- a 130,000-square-foot digital media center -- is nearing completion. Preparations for the expansion of the cafeteria -- open 22 hours a day and celebrated for its fresh brick-oven pizzas -- have begun. And the network anticipates other large buildings in the next few years.

But finding room in Bristol has become a problem.

ESPN's first major project in Southington is expected to help solve it.

On 10 hillside acres east of Birch Street that were specially cleared for the purpose, ESPN is building a teleport -- a "satellite dish farm" where it will consolidate most of the its 27 dishes.

They're now scattered about the main campus -- in parking lots, on rooftops, beside Route 229 -- and generally in the way.

In the past seven years alone, the Walt Disney-owned network's need for space in Bristol has mushroomed, along with the number of Connecticut employees, which has risen to 3,000 from 1,700 in 2000.

ESPN's Cup -- And Dishes -- Runneth Over