Brook Lopez is building his offseason home at Disney World
Making it as a professional athlete is typically referred to as a childhood dream. But what about all the other impossible futures that children imagine in their idle moments? A young kid might also want to be an astronaut, or drive the Batmobile as a primary vehiclee, or make his adult home in some far-off land like Middle-earth or wherever “Frozen” takes place. Shouldn’t a multi-millionaire twentysomething professional athlete have the chance to make those dreams reality, as well?
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Credit to Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez, then, for fulfilling the childhood fantasy of any kid who had the full set of those oversized Disney VHS tapes. As the seventh-year pro told Stefon Bondy of the New York Daily News, he’s having a house built at Disney World (via EOB):
Nets center Brook Lopez, 26, a longtime Disneyphile with a Goofy figurine in his locker, told the Daily News that he is building a luxury home on site at his favorite Orlando resort.
“My older brother Chris sent me a link when the property development was first announced three or four years ago now,” Lopez said. “We joked about doing it. As it got more real and real, I just decided I wanted to do it.”
The opportunity arose with the advent of Disney’s sponsored Golden Oak — a 980-acre real estate development on the grounds of the theme park. Home ownership in the gated community starts at $1.8 million and, according to the Wall Street Journal, houses have sold for as much as $7 million with hefty annual fees. It is popular amongst wealthy Brazilians.
Lopez said construction on his place will begin in a couple months and it should be ready in about a year and a half.
“I’ll be living there in the offseason,” he said.
As Bondy notes later in the article, Golden Oak residence includes free shuttle service to all four Disney World theme parks and various other brand-specific amenities. It’s a no-brainer fit for the California native Lopez, who regularly frequents Disney Land with his three brothers, including twin Robin of the Portland Trail Blazers, when they can make the time for it. (Brook likes Splash Mountain way more than Robin.) Additionally, Brook visited the mere construction site of the new Shanghai Disneyland development when the Nets visited China this preseason. That’s dedication.
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Oh, and don’t worry, Brook definitely has lots of opinions on all things Disney. From AthletesLiveHere.com:
He maintains that his favorite “Disney Princess” is Sleeping Beauty, his favorite ride at the park growing up was “Star Tours,” and says that if he was employed at Disneyland he would be a ride attendant at either the Pirates of the Caribbean or the Haunted Mansion. […]
“[Going to Disneyworld] was on his mind the entire trip,” former teammate Ryan Anderson (New Orleans Hornets) recalls when both were in Orlando for a summer league.
We fully support Lopez in his decision. While we do not yet know if purchasing a property at Golden Oak will prove to be a sound investment, it seems like a pretty appropriate use of the four-year, $60-million contract extension that the seven-footer signed in July 2012. We just hope Lopez’s new Brazilian neighbors like basketball.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
