A strong case has been made.

After a week of anticipation, Orlando City SC President Phil Rawlins presented to the Orange County Board of Commissioners Tuesday morning in downtown, making a case to finalize the financing structure of a mutli-purpose soccer stadium in downtown Orlando. The topic of discussion surrounded $20 million of Tourist Development Tax (TDT) – the last piece of the puzzle before moving forward with final negotiations with the Major League Soccer (MLS) front office.

“The market is proven,” Rawlins said at the beginning of the presentation. “Orlando deserves a second major league franchise, and we can bring it here.”

More than 60 Orlando City supporters, all wearing purple, crowded the room in support. Applause followed each mention of the Lions, with the County Commissioners talking openly about the sea of purple in attendance.

Other than the main points, Rawlins addressed many benefits of a MLS club coming to town, including:

• $1.2 Billion economic impact over 30 years*
• Signing a Designated Player (DP) upon entry in MLS, a “Brazilian Beckham”
• International games ($5.5 million economic impact each)
• MLS All-Star matches ($5.7 million economic impact each)
• Increased global brand exposure for Central Florida
• Visit Orlando Partnership ($5 million+)
• Additional event in which the Citrus Bowl does not quality ($7.2 million economic impact)
• Second major league franchise in Central Florida

In a recent interview with ESPNFC.com, District 6 Commissioner Tiffany Moore-Russell mentioned that she was supportive of a stadium plan that drew from TDT dollars as long as it had a strong backbone.

“As long as there is a plan that shows the venue will put heads in {hotel} beds, I have no problem taking the TDT, as long as there is a return on investment,” she said to ESPNFC’s Jeff Carlisle.

One of the topics that was enforced by the club president was that playing in the Florida Citrus Bowl is not on the table for MLS consideration.

“We can not play in the Citrus Bowl,” Rawlins emphasized. “We need to have a MLS compliant stadium in order to get a franchise.”
Rawlins and other Orlando City executives now get ready for the August 9 meeting with the Tourist Development Council (TDC).

Conversation will again be around the $20 million from the TDT in which the club hopes to draw from in order to complete a financing plan. That meeting will be held in the same room as Tuesday morning, with a start time of 1:30 p.m.

Stay tuned for more updates as the #PurplePride campaign continues throughout the week and into the second of two County meetings on Friday afternoon. Click here to join the event on Friday!

*Based off of CS&L study