So much for the second legs of the MLS Conference Championships this weekend.
On November 19th, Major League Soccer’s “worst-kept secret” was finally let out of the bag at a special event in Orlando. The local outfit, (third-tier) USL Pro side Orlando City SC will gain entry into the North American top flight in 2015.
With all eyes on Orlando now, the year-and-a-half buildup to their 2015 introduction is sure to be a very telling time. How will the team change their logo and jerseys? Will the construction of a new stadium, only approved by Orange County Board of Commissioners a month ago, go smoothly and be on schedule? Will Brazilian majority owner Flávio Augusto da Silva be able to lure his good friend, countryman, and 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year Kaká to the United States?
Most important of all, is this franchise set up to succeed?
Fans:
Ever since former majority owner Phil Rawlins moved Austin Aztex FC to Orlando, the team and it’s fans have flourished. Orlando City SC’s average attendance for the 2013 regular season was in the low 8,000’s, the largest figure for a lower-league soccer club in the United States. Their average attendance in 2013 was within a few hundred people of Chivas USA, MLS’ least-viewed club.
With the higher quality of play, the new 18,000 seat facility, that is set to be completed a few months into their inaugural season, and increased publicity, Orlando’s current attendance figures will most certainly be beaten. Orlando could become the next mid-size market to take the league by storm, following in the footsteps of Kansas City, Salt Lake City, and Portland.
Ownership and Staff:
Both da Silva and now minority owner Rawlins appear to be the right people going forward for this franchise. Rawlins lived up to his ambitious promise in 2010 that Orlando would have an MLS team within five years, while da Silva has connected well with Orlando’s large Latin market. It is unclear whether current head coach Adrian Heath will maintain his role come 2015, but delivering two regular season and two playoff Championships in three seasons will only help his cause.
Market:
Orlando is not the biggest market that MLS could have tapped into (that title still belongs to, depending on which statistics are looked at, Atlanta or Miami), but it’s appeal is just as high as it’s South-East neighbours. Orlando remains a major tourist destination both in America and worldwide, with Walt Disney World and SeaWorld being the main draws. The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex has played host to outstanding professional and youth soccer tournaments over the years. The Orlando Magic are the only other major-league sports team in the city.
Team:
The team itself is impossible to judge at this point because come 2015 it will be completely different. An important part of the assembly of the new team will be the expansion draft, where Orlando and fellow newcomer New York City FC will exchange picks for players left unprotected by their teams. In recent drafts, many of the players picked in the draft have been quickly traded away for other resources. That being said, there will likely be at least one pickup that will make a big impact on the season. Sebastian Le Toux, Dax McCarty and Brian Ching are just three names that have been chosen in recent expansion drafts. Who follows in their footsteps could be an intriguing storyline.
Overall:
Orlando has the pieces in place to be another expansion success for MLS, but there are certain chips that have to fall the right way for that to happen. If da Silva cannot lure a high-profile Designated Player, or if the team loses more than the average first-year expansion side (which is really saying something), would the fans who have become used to winning get a bad taste in their mouths? If David Beckham and LeBron James are able to bring a franchise to Miami, how will their fellow Floridian franchise be affected? Would any team be able to survive if they played consecutive matches in Houston, Dallas, and Orlando in the summer?
For the first time since 2001, MLS is going back to the South-East. The league is in far better shape than it was when the Tampa Bay Mutiny and the Miami Fusion had to fold. Here’s hoping that the third time is the charm for MLS in Florida.
Note: My playoff predictions from November 9th are still in effect, despite both Houston and Portland facing uphill tasks in their respective second legs. As for MLS Cup on December 7th, I don’t pick a winner until I know the contestants.
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