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Orlando City announce date of stadium groundbreaking

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By MIKE GRAMAJO

After months of delay, Orlando City Soccer Club will finally break ground on their downtown soccer stadium.

The club announced on Friday that groundbreaking for the stadium will be on Oct. 16. The event will be open to the public. According to an Orlando City spokesperson, it will take 18 months for the stadium to be completed. 

“Oct. 16 will be a landmark day for the community of Parramore, the City of Orlando, Orange County, our fans and our Club,” Orlando City president Phil Rawlins said in a statement. Parramore, a historically African-American neighborhood, sits just west of downtown Orlando and is home to the Orlando Magic’s NBA arena and other large commercial, civic, and government institutions.

“We look forward to hosting an unforgettable, festive celebration to mark the ceremonial start of construction of what will be the best soccer stadium in the league,” added Rawlins.

In June the club unveiled official stadium renderings designed by Populous, the group behind MLS stadiums such as Kansas City’s Sporting Park. The $110 million facility will seat approximately 19,500 fans just blocks away from the Amway Center, home to the Magic. 

The stadium, which does not have a sponsor yet, is expected to be finished before the 2016 Major League Soccer season. OCSC will play their inaugural season in MLS at a renovated Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium.

What do you make of this development? How will Orlando City’s stadium compare to other stadiums around the league?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. This stadium is so weird, why not make it like Houston’s since it’s around the same prize tag. I also think MLS owners should look at Asian stadiums, like japan or Korea, there small and very nicely designed.

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  2. It needs to be less than 18 months. That would place the completion at approximately mid-April 2016, which would be nearly six weeks into the 2016 season.

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    • I can tell you from experience that 18 months is already a very aggressive timeline for a construction like this. If management gets it done, they deserve kudos. Anything shorter is just not realistic.

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