Orlando City News Release -- www.orlandocitysoccer.com
Friday, July 8, 2011
ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando City Soccer Club and Florida Citrus Sports have announced a partnership created in an effort to bring high-profile international soccer matches to Orlando. The partnership will begin with this month’s “Orlando City Premier League Challenge” at Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium.
On July 17th, the 2010-11 FA Cup semifinalist Bolton Wanderers will square off against Orlando City at 7:30 p.m. Just six days later, the host Lions will take on legendary English Premier League side Newcastle United on July 23rd at 7:30 p.m. At present, there is no plan for these matches to be televised so the only opportunity for fans will be to catch one of these top-flight teams in person.
“When we announced the Orlando City franchise last October we pledged ourselves to bringing the highest quality international soccer to Orlando,” said Orlando City President Phil Rawlins. “Our games later this month against Bolton and Newcastle are just the beginning of that process. Today’s announcement of our partnership with Florida Citrus Sports can only enhance our opportunities of bringing big international games to the Citrus Bowl.”
Beyond this summer’s Premier League Challenge, Orlando City and Florida Citrus Sports will continue working together to bring the top international soccer brands to Central Florida for additional summer challenge series. Teams targeted for future matches will likely come from the English Premier League (e.g. Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal), Spain’s La Liga (e.g. Real Madrid, FC Barcelona) and Brazil’s Brasileirão (e.g. Santos, Sao Paolo).
“There is no reason Orlando shouldn't be a regular stop for international soccer competition,” said FCSports CEO Steve Hogan. “Soccer, regular-season college football and other neutral-site events help fill hotel rooms during months that are traditionally slow for tourism, bringing economic impact to our local businesses at a time otherwise lacking.”
In addition to this partnership helping bring top-flight soccer in particular, the overall effort of bringing more premier events to Orlando and Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium continues to be the focus in general. The Orlando City Premier League Challenge now joins the Capital One Bowl, Champs Sports Bowl and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida Classic as some of the nation’s top neutral-site sporting events hosted by the City Beautiful.
Tickets for the July 17 game versus Bolton and the July 23 Newcastle contest range from $25-180 per ticket. Both games have suite availability. Corporate group rates are also available for groups of 10 or more. For more information on tickets, suites and group rates, please call 855-ORL-CITY (855-675-2489).
Orlando City also announced today that the kickoff time for the July 16th match against Rochester Rhinos has been changed to 6:30 pm. The change was made to accommodate the national television broadcast on FOX Soccer Channel. Any tickets with the 7:30 kickoff time will still be honored. Fans should call 855-ORL-CITY for more information.