Orlando City Soccer Countdown to Groundbreaking: MLS President, Purple Sand and a Special Gift for Fans!
As the City Beautiful prepares for the highly anticipated groundbreaking of the new Downtown home of the Orlando City Soccer Club, details continue to emerge about the unique once-in-a-lifetime celebration scheduled for Thursday evening, October 16. Fans will begin to gather at Church Street Station at 5:30 p.m.
Mark Abbott, president of Major League Soccer, will attend the festivities on Thursday, participating alongside fans and dignitaries.
The Club also announced today that, in true Orlando City fashion, the ceremonial dig will take place in purple sand – over 24 tons of purple sand to be exact. The violet-hued sand will be delivered to the site Thursday morning and placed into a specially constructed box where the first dig will take place.
The groundbreaking celebration is open to all, and fans who attend will receive a unique gift to remember this day: a clear miniature Orlando City commemorative paint can which they can take use to scoop up and take home some of the purple sand from the event. Fans can pre-register for the souvenir by clicking here.
Below is a full schedule of events for Thursday evening:
5:30 p.m. – Fans gather at Church Street Station
6:15 p.m. – March begins from Church Street to groundbreaking site
~6:45 p.m. – Formal groundbreaking event begins
~7:20 p.m. – Ceremonial dig
Additional details of the groundbreaking will be announced over the coming days. Be sure to get the latest updates by following Orlando City via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
For more information on Orlando City SC or to purchase 2015 MLS Season Tickets, visit www.OrlandoCitySC.com or call 855-ORL-CITY.
About the Downtown Stadium:
Through a public/private partnership, a new Major League Soccer stadium is being constructed in Downtown Orlando – it will be the future home of Orlando City Soccer Club and host to other major national events throughout the year. Scheduled to open for the 2016 MLS season, the stadium will have an initial capacity of approximately 20,000, will be LEED-certified, and will reflect the character and culture of the community, especially the surrounding Parramore neighborhood, to provide an unparalleled and truly unique fan experience.
The stadium will break ground on October 16, 2014, and is being designed and constructed by Populous, Barton Malow, and ICON Venue Group, who are widely renowned for previous works on venues such as Wembley Stadium, Yankee Stadium and multiple other MLS stadium projects. One completed, it will be operated by the City of Orlando and owned by the Central Florida community. Community funding partnerships include the City of Orlando, Orlando City Soccer Club and Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties.
The soccer stadium is part of the Blueprint Initiative that ensures the local community benefits from the construction with 24 percent of the contracts going to minority or women-owned business enterprises. For more information, visit www.OrlandoCitySC.com.
