Orlando City News Release -- www.orlandocitysoccer.com
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando City held its first annual media day today, highlighted by Owner/President Phil Rawlins’ “State of the Team” address.
Rawlins covered several topics ranging from the team’s rapidly growing season ticket base, incredible commitments from sponsors, and the outpouring of support from the community. Rawlins also officially introduced the Orlando City roster to the media. The highlights of Rawlins’ address were three-fold: the Citrus Bowl is the definitive home for all Orlando City regular season matches in 2011, Bright House Sports Network will air at least five Orlando City matches this season, and English Premier League side Newcastle United will be coming to Orlando this summer.
"We are delighted to announce that Newcastle United, one of the biggest teams in the English Premier League, will be our guests for part of their pre-season training in July in Orlando, Florida,” said Rawlins. “The team will spend several days training here before playing Orlando City in an international exhibition game on Saturday, July 23rd."
Bright House Sports Network will air a minimum of five Orlando City matches this season, beginning with the June 2nd match against the Charlotte Eagles. June 29th vs. Sevilla FC Puerto Rico, July 8th vs. the Dayton Dutch Lions, and August 12th vs. the Harrisburg City Islanders have all been earmarked as broadcast dates with one more game still to be determined. Orlando City and Bright House Sports Network are also exploring options to broadcast certain Orlando City road games.
The Citrus Bowl is now the official home for Orlando City during the 2011 USL PRO season. All twelve regular season home games plus playoff games will be played at the downtown stadium. The Citrus Bowl will also be the primary location for Orlando City’s international and domestic friendlies, as evidenced by the Philadelphia Union’s visit this past February. Rawlins also announced the team intends to negotiate a long term lease of the Citrus Bowl for the 2012 season and beyond.
“The future is very bright for Orlando City,” said Rawlins. “This year we are focused on building our team and winning the USL PRO championship, but we have our eyes set on even bigger and brighter things. Chief among those is bringing a Major League Soccer franchise to the City Beautiful.”