The Florida State House of Representatives took an important step on Friday towards providing Orlando City SC with potential additional stadium funds for its new downtown stadium. The House voted in support of a bill which would develop a process for providing potential sales tax rebates to new professional sports venues built in the State of Florida. This bill is similar to the one which failed to be passed during the final week of the 2013 Legislative Session.

A similar bill is expected to be voted on by the Florida State Senate on Tuesday, April 29th in Tallahassee.

While both the House & Senate bills are slightly different, both proposals set forth a comprehensive new process for Florida-based professional sports teams to apply for stadium construction funds in exchange for the teams guaranteeing a specific amount of future new State sales tax generated as a result of the construction. This proposed new process would be overseen by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and involve a strict evaluation process with each application.

Before being enacted into law, both the House and Senate’s respective legislation would need to be approved by the other. It is expected that only one version will ultimately be passed by both chambers. The 2014 Florida Legislative session ends on Friday, May 2nd.

Orlando City SC owners Flavio Augusto da Silva and Phil Rawlins are scheduled to be in Tallahassee on Tuesday to meet directly with various lawmakers in support of the bills.

Regardless of the outcome of the Florida Legislative session, Orlando City SC new downtown stadium project will move forward. Construction will begin later this year one block west of the Amway Center and is expected to be open prior to the 2016 Major League Soccer season.

Please stay tuned to OrlandoCitySC.com and @OrlandoCitySC on Twitter for additional updates throughout the week.