Exploria Stadium

Exploria Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in downtown Orlando, Florida. The stadium is located along West Church Street in the Parramore neighborhood west of Downtown Orlando. It is the home of Orlando City SC, which entered Major League Soccer (MLS) as an expansion franchise in 2015, and their National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) affiliate club, the Orlando Pride. The stadium was completed in time for Orlando City's home opener of the 2017 season on March 5 and it became the first ever venue to permanently host MLS, NWSL, and USL teams all in the same location that year.[17] Originally known as Orlando City Stadium, on June 4, 2019, it was announced that Exploria Resorts (a timeshare entity) had acquired naming rights to the stadium.[18]

"Orlando City Stadium" redirects here. For the stadium in Orlando used predominantly for American football, see Camping World Stadium.
Exploria Stadium
Orlando City SC hosts the San Jose Earthquakes, April 21, 2018
Exploria Stadium
Location in Florida
Exploria Stadium
Location in the United States
Former namesOrlando City Stadium (2017–2019)
Location655 West Church Street, Orlando, Florida 32805[1][2]
Coordinates28.5411°N 81.3893°W / 28.5411; -81.3893[2][3]
Public transit Church Street Station
21, 319
Grapefruit Line
OwnerOrlando City SC
OperatorOrlando City SC
Executive suites31[4]
Capacity25,500[5]
Field size120 yd × 75 yd (110 m × 69 m)[6]
Acreage10
SurfaceGrass
ScoreboardPanasonic[7]
Construction
Broke groundOctober 16, 2014[8][9]
OpenedFebruary 24, 2017 (2017-02-24)[10][11][12]
Construction cost$155 million[13]
ArchitectPopulous[14]
Project managerICON Venue Group[15]
Structural engineerWalter P Moore[16]
Services engineerM–E Engineers, Inc.[16]
General contractorBarton Malow[15]
Tenants
College football

Cure Bowl (NCAA) (2019)

Soccer
Orlando City SC (MLS) (2017–present)
Orlando Pride (NWSL) (2017–present)
Orlando City B (USL) (2017)
Florida Cup (2018–present)
MLS Combine (2018–present)

As well as home matches for Orlando City, Orlando Pride, the stadium has also been used as a host venue for both the United States men's and women's national teams, the finals for both the NWSL Championship and NCAA Women's College Cup, numerous Florida Cup games, the MLS Combine in 2018 and 2019, and the 2019 MLS All-Star Game.

Away from soccer, the stadium hosted the 2019 Cure Bowl, a college football bowl game. In January 2021, it was announced Exploria Stadium would be the venue of the 2022 Special Olympics USA opening ceremony.[19][20]

History

In April 2013, the City of Orlando purchased downtown land for $8.2 million to be used towards the construction of a $110 million MLS soccer stadium.[21] However, in May, the Florida House of Representatives failed to vote on a bill that had passed the Senate that would have provided up to $30 million in state funds towards the stadium project. Orlando City SC President Phil Rawlins responded by expressing his intent to find alternative funding and keep seeking MLS expansion.[22]

The Orlando downtown soccer stadium moved closer to securing funding on August 8, 2013, when Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer reached an agreement on a deal to provide financial support for a variety of Orlando projects including the new MLS soccer stadium.[23] The last piece in stadium funding was an October 2013 vote on using an existing tourism tax to fund the final quarter of the $80 million stadium project.[24] On October 22, 2013, the Orange County Board of Commissioners voted 5–2 to approve the use of $20 million in tourist development tax funds to build an $84 million multi-purpose soccer stadium in downtown Orlando.[25]

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced on December 11, 2013, that the 2016 and 2017 NCAA Women's College Soccer Championship would be held at the new stadium.[26][27]

On August 4, 2014, the team announced that the stadium location would be moved one block west, to avoid having a delay to the opening day, due to Faith Deliverance Temple fighting the city's eminent-domain claim. The new location resulted in the closure of Parramore Avenue between Church Street and Central Boulevard in February 2015,[28] as the stadium was built right on top of where the road currently runs.[2][3]

The club played their 2015 MLS inaugural season home matches at Citrus Bowl.[29] On January 13, 2016, club president Phil Rawlins announced that construction of the team's stadium was taking four months longer than expected and that the team would remain at the Citrus Bowl (since renamed Camping World Stadium) for the 2016 season.[30]

On March 5, 2017, Orlando City began the 2017 season by hosting New York City FC in the stadium's inaugural match. Cyle Larin scored the first goal in stadium history as Orlando won 1–0 in front of a sellout crowd of 25,550.[31]

Financing

Orlando City SC's owners announced on May 29, 2015, that the stadium would be privately funded by Orlando City SC and not the city. They also announced they would upgrade the stadium's capacity from 19,000 seats, to somewhere between 25,000 and 28,000 seats. The new plan was unveiled on July 31, increasing capacity to 25,500 by adding seats to the south end to maximize seats without major design changes that would set back the project by an additional year. Costs also rose from $110 million to $155 million.[32]

As part of the private funding venture for the new stadium, at least $15 million has come from 30 foreign investors in countries such as Brazil and China via the EB-5 investment program, which grants American visas in exchange for a $500,000 investment in the project.[33]

More foreign investors looking to obtain green cards through the EB-5 program are joining this project, which has already created around 1000 jobs and is expected to create around 1000 more in an area that much needed its economic growth. This project is still open and more information can be obtained by contacting the American Regional Center Group.

Design

The team released artistic renderings of the stadium on December 11, 2012.[34] On September 30, 2013, the architectural firm Woods Bagot released their drawings of the stadium on their website. The team announced that these drawings were released without their knowledge or input, and that they had not selected an architect yet. Woods Bagot proceed to remove the images from their website.[35] The design phase began on January 7, 2014, when Mayor Buddy Dyer and some of the Orlando City SC staff traveled to Kansas City to begin working with the design firm Populous.[14]

The original renderings of the stadium proposed 18,000 seats, including 2,500 club seats. It would also have 300 seats in specialty suites. The stadium's square footage is about 290,000 square feet (27,000 m2), with 120,000 square feet (11,000 m2) devoted to the bowl. It is also supposedly going to have bars, retail shops, and restaurants.[36]

Additional renderings and information about the stadium were released on June 10, 2014. The stadium has an open plaza, where those passing by can see inside, since the field is 8 feet (2.4 m) below street level.[37] It was initially planned to have a seating capacity of 19,500, with the structural ability to expand to 25,000 in the future. This was changed in May 2015 to simply building room for 25,000 in the initial construction, rather than waiting for another construction period.[38] The field is grass, with canopies over fans to protect them from the elements and to increase noise levels. A four times life size lion sculpture was planned to overlook the entrance.[5] Just before a game began, the lion would rotate 180° to "watch" the action. A festival plaza lined with palm trees on the south end of the plaza, just outside the main entrance at Church Street and Terry Avenue was built (the streets are closed to vehicles during events). A balcony-style bar just below the video scoreboard with a 360° view was planned as well. A seating section on the north end is dedicated to members of supporters' clubs. As proposed — and if building codes allow — it has no seats, but rails and extra room for "safe standing". The 3,811-capacity section, known as "The Wall" began as a small but ardent collection of fans from the two main supporter groups, The Ruckus and Iron Lion Firm.[39] The supporters' section would also have its own "pub-style" area.[4][40]

Aerial view of Exploria Stadium

Heineken announced a partnership with multiple MLS teams on November 12, 2014, including Orlando City, making Heineken the official beer of the team as well as giving Heineken naming rights to the ground level bar on the south side of the stadium. In addition to the announcement, a new rendering of the south side from inside the stadium was released.[41]

Panasonic was announced as the team's "Official Technology Partner" on December 17, 2014, in exchange for Panasonic providing on-field and fascia LED boards, the main scoreboard on the south end of the field, and dozens of flat panel TV screens throughout the stadium in suites, offices and work areas. In addition, Panasonic provides security cameras, control room and other key components for the new stadium.[7]

The stadium includes 49 rainbow-colored seats in Section 12 as a memorial that honors the victims of the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting.[42][43]

International soccer matches

Men's matches
Date Team #1 Result Team #2 Competition Attendance
October 6, 2017[44]  United States 4–0  Panama 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fifth Round 25,303
March 21, 2019[45]  United States 1–0  Ecuador International friendly 17,442
November 15, 2019[46]  United States 4–1  Canada 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League A 13,103
January 31, 2021[47]  United States 7–0  Trinidad and Tobago International friendly 3,503

Women's matches
Date Team #1 Result Team #2 Competition Attendance
March 7, 2018  France 3–0  Germany 2018 SheBelieves Cup 6,525[48]
 United States 1–0  England 12,351[49]
March 5, 2020  Spain 3–1  Japan 2020 SheBelieves Cup 7,528[50]
 United States 2–0  England 16,531[51]
January 18, 2021  United States 4–0  Colombia International friendly 2,042[52]
January 22, 2021  United States 6–0  Colombia 3,202[53]
February 18, 2021  Brazil  Argentina 2021 SheBelieves Cup
 United States  Canada
February 21, 2021  United States  Brazil
 Argentina  Canada
February 24, 2021  Canada  Brazil
 United States  Argentina

Other notable soccer matches

CONCACAF Champions League

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, CONCACAF selected Exploria Stadium to host the latter stages of the delayed 2020 CONCACAF Champions League in one centralized and neutral location. With the competition paused in March at the quarter-final stage, three of the four ties had already had the first leg contested. Los Angeles FC vs Cruz Azul was the only outstanding first leg and was changed to a single-leg match as a result. All games were played behind closed doors.[54]

Date Team #1 Result Team #2 Competition Attendance
December 15, 2020[55][56] Olimpia 0–1[lower-alpha 1] Montreal Impact 2020 CONCACAF Champions League
quarter-finals		 N/A
Tigres 4–0[lower-alpha 2] New York City FC
December 16, 2020[57][58] Atlanta United 1–0[lower-alpha 3] América
Los Angeles FC 2–1[lower-alpha 4] Cruz Azul
December 19, 2020[59][60] Tigres 3–0[lower-alpha 4] Olimpia 2020 CONCACAF Champions League
semi-finals
Los Angeles FC 3–1[lower-alpha 4] América
December 22, 2020[61] Tigres 2–1[lower-alpha 4] Los Angeles FC 2020 CONCACAF Champions League
Final
  1. 2–2 on aggregate, Olimpia progressed on away goals rule.
  2. UANL won 5–0 on aggregate.
  3. América won 3–1 on aggregate.
  4. Single-legged tie.

Florida Cup
Date Team #1 Result Team #2 Competition Attendance
January 10, 2018 Corinthians p 1–1 PSV Eindhoven 2018 Florida Cup –
January 11, 2018 Atlético Mineiro 0–1 Rangers –
January 10, 2019 Ajax 2–2 p Flamengo 2019 Florida Cup –
January 12, 2019 São Paulo 2–4 Ajax –
Flamengo 1–0 Eintracht Frankfurt
January 15, 2020 Corinthians 2–1 New York City FC 2020 Florida Cup –
Palmeiras p 0–0 Atlético Nacional
January 18, 2020 New York City FC 1–2 Palmeiras 11,569
Atlético Nacional 2–1 Corinthians

Friendlies
Date Team #1 Result Team #2 Competition Attendance
June 28, 2019[62] Pachuca 1–2 Independiente Medellín Friendly –

MLS All-Stars
Date Team #1 Result Team #2 Competition Attendance
July 31, 2019[63] MLS All-Stars 0–3 Atlético Madrid 2019 MLS All-Star Game 25,527

NCAA
Date Team #1 Result Team #2 Competition Attendance
December 3, 2017 Stanford 3–2 UCLA 2017 NCAA Women's College Cup Final 1,938

NWSL
Date Team #1 Result Team #2 Competition Attendance
October 14, 2017 North Carolina Courage 0–1 Portland Thorns FC 2017 NWSL Championship 8,124

Other sports

Football

In May 2019, Cure Bowl officials announced the college football game would be moved to Exploria Stadium from Camping World Stadium. It was the stadium's first non-soccer event.[64] It returned to Camping World Stadium in 2020 after it was acquired by ESPN Events.[65]

Date Team #1 Result Team #2 Competition Attendance
December 21, 2019[66] Georgia Southern Eagles 16–23 Liberty Flames 2019 Cure Bowl 18,158

Other events

Concerts
Date Act(s) Event Attendance Additional notes
September 26, 2020 Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra Opening night of 2020–21 concert season – First professional orchestra to perform a full concert in a U.S. soccer stadium. Moved from Bob Carr Theater. Reduced capacity due to COVID-19 restrcitions.[67]
Exploria Stadium.
Overview of Exploria Stadium.
Night game at Exploria Stadium.

References
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  2. "Orlando City Soccer announces new stadium location". WOFL. Orlando. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  3. Wiebe, Andrew. "Orlando City SC shift soccer-specific stadium site one block west as city drops eminent-domain claim". MLSsoccer.com. Major League Soccer. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  4. "Orlando City Launches Public On-Sale for 2016 Season Tickets; Provides Update on Downtown Stadium". July 31, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
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  6. de los Rios, Gabriel; Calderon, Rudy (March 2, 2017). "All 22 MLS stadiums for the 2017 season". Major League Soccer. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
  7. "Orlando City SC Forms Multi-year Partnership with Panasonic". OrlandoCitySC.com. Orlando City Soccer Club. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  8. "Orlando City Stadium Groundbreaking Set For October 16". Orlando City Soccer Club. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  9. "Your City Your Stadium: Update on Proposed Stadium Opening". Orlando City Soccer Club. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  10. Kelly, Jason (February 24, 2017). "Orlando City Soccer Club unveils new Parramore stadium". WFTV. Orlando. Archived from the original on February 25, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  11. DelGallo, Alicia. "Orlando City to hold ribbon-cutting, tours at new stadium". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  12. DelGallo, Alicia. "Orlando City Stadium ribbon-cutting focuses on Parramore community". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  13. Tenorio, Paul (July 31, 2015). "Orlando City reveals new design of $155 million, 25,500-seat stadium". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  14. Schlueb, Mark (January 7, 2014). "Architects, Dyer and Lions to Brainstorm Ideas for MLS Stadium Design". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  15. "Populous, Barton Malow and ICON Venue Group Announced as Core Members for New Downtown Stadium Project". Orlando City Soccer Clube. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  16. Burney, Teresa (June 26, 2015). "New Orlando City Soccer Stadium Bidding Delayed". Growth Spotter. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  17. "Orlando City B To Play 2017 USL Season in New Downtown Soccer Stadium". Archived from the original on February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
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  20. Wilson, Sarah. "2022 Special Olympics USA Games opening ceremonies to be held at Exploria Stadium". WFTV.
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  67. "Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra To Perform at Exploria Stadium". www.orlandocitysc.com.
Preceded by
Camping World Stadium		 Home of Orlando City SC
2017–present		 Succeeded by
none
Preceded by
Camping World Stadium		 Home of Orlando Pride
2017–present		 Succeeded by
none
Preceded by
Titan Soccer Complex		 Home of Orlando City B
2017		 Succeeded by
Montverde Academy
Preceded by
Avaya Stadium		 Host of the NCAA Women's College Cup
2017		 Succeeded by
WakeMed Soccer Park
Preceded by
Mercedes-Benz Stadium		 Host of the MLS All-Star Game
2019		 Succeeded by
Banc of California Stadium
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