At the OCSC annual end of season banquet, Phil (nicest millionaire I have ever met) introduced several other owners/investors. That includes 3 of the 4 Stoke City directors two of which were in attendance. I spoke to them and they said they were all for supporting the team up to the MLS with stadium and other funding issues. This is a well heeled and funded group who want to move up.
Interesting. So we do have private financing in the works. October/November will be an exciting time.
We have discussed this before. If you add up the assets of all the various owners of Orlando City, you have a sizable chuck of wealth. Add to that the fact the majority owners of the various clubs in England that these men have ties to, have even larger cash deposits (billions each), I am fairly certain that there is a group that has the ability to make a strong play into MLS. But more on topic, I really really hope they go for a Citrus Bowl-ish downtown stadium and not near I-Drive or especially out in West Orange. In no way is either location anything like what RSL has in Sandy, Utah. Sandy is in the middle of the metro area, those are both on the outskirts, and the Winter Garden/West Orange area is really outside of the metro area and not even close to I-4 (but it is near an brand-new, excellent almost non-used toll road).
The Mayor was on the radio this morning basically saying the Citrus Bowl would be sufficient for MLS for a few years (before a SSS would be required). He's comfortable with the lingo now. I was only able to half-listen so didn't catch a lot of it but there's also an article at the OCS website...
The problem is, the lower bowl of the Citrus Bowl is being demolished after the 2014 Capital One Bowl for rebuilding. So where will be play in the meantime?
Whether or not the team is specifically 'pandering' to tourists intentionally, you touched on the important thing; its the impression some people have. If you have choice A or choice B and one choice puts you closer to the "tourist" part of town that many people in Orlando avoid like the plague for a plethora of reasons, I don't see how its "shit" to believe that option is less desirable. Either way I would be buying season tickets and attending every game possible, I just know which I prefer. And you are exactly right about Disney.