ORLANDO, Fla. – Feb. 29, 2016 – Orlando City SC marked the beginning of steel construction at the site of the future Downtown soccer stadium, and home for Orlando City and Orlando Pride, with a special ceremony in Parramore earlier today. Joined by several guests including Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and District 5 Commissioner Regina Hill, Orlando City Founder and President Phil Rawlins provided an update on construction and officially launched the Purple Steel Tour.
A special steel beam has been painted purple and will travel to several events throughout the week in Orlando. Fans attending these events will be able to sign the beam, effectively putting their name on a piece of history. The beam will be installed as part of the stadium later in March. A total of 10 million pounds of steel will be used during construction.
The beam will be at the following locations:
- Monday – Community Stadium Update Meeting at Shiloh Baptist Church (6:30 p.m.)
- Tuesday – CFHLA Tailgate at Cheyenne Saloon (5 p.m.)
- Thursday – Purple Pride 5k at Lake Eola (6:30 p.m.)
- Saturday – Orlando City Pub Crawl Downtown (3 p.m.)
“Today marks a major milestone in the construction of our new home, and we are thrilled to share this achievement with the community and our fans,” said Rawlins. “Progress is being made daily at the site, and we continue on track to open for the start of the 2017 season. In addition, we are proud of the workforce assembled for this project, with a significant majority coming from right here in our local community.”
Construction on the soccer stadium is expected to hit its peak during the months of July, August and September. Approximately 500 workers are expected to be on site daily during that time. Construction is also having a significant benefit to the local community, as 70 percent of the project is contracted to business within the tri-county area (Orange, Seminole and Lake counties), while 52 percent is contracted to businesses within Orlando. In addition, 20 percent of the project is contracted to Minority and Women Owned Enterprises (MWBE).
To date, over 6,200 cubic yards of concrete have been poured as part of the underground and foundation work. This next phase of construction will see the 25,500-seat stadium begin to take shape above ground.
Fans have a number of options to guarantee their seats in the new Downtown Soccer Stadium for 2017:
- 2016 Orlando City SC Season Ticket Members are guaranteed a seat in the new stadium. Fans who are not current Orlando City Season Ticket Members can join the waitlist for 2017 by visiting www.OrlandoCitySC.com/Tickets/Waitlist or calling 855-ORL-CITY.
- Orlando Pride Season Ticket Members also receive priority for 2017. Pride season tickets are available at www.OrlandoCitySC.com/Pride/Tickets or by calling 855-ORL-CITY
- Private suites are also available but selling quickly, with only a handful remaining for 2017. For information on suites, please call 855-ORL-CITY.
Fans and media can stay up to date with ongoing construction via a streaming video and time-lapse camera. They can be accessed at www.OrlandoCitySC.com/Stadium/Stream. The streaming and time-lapse cameras provide a variety of views, as well as user functionality such as camera panning and zoom.
