The Orlando City Soccer Club announced the development team for their new $84 million stadium in downtown Orlando on Tuesday.
Populous will be the lead architect on the project, Barton Malow will serve as the construction manager and ICON Venue Group will be representing the owners.
The architecture firm recently design soccer stadiums in Houston and Kansas City and the Dunas Arena in Brazil for the 2014 World Cup.
Orlando City SC, a USL PRO team which will join the MLS beginning in the 2015 season, is currently playing at Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports Hess Sports Field in Lake Buena Vista. Stands had to added to the makeshift venue located outside the city, but the team will be gong from one extreme to the other next season.
The new soccer stadium will be located across from the Amway Center, which Populous also designed, will consume 290,000 square feet of space downtown, according to the Orlando Business Journal. More than 100,000 square feet of that total will be the seating bowl expected to accommodate 18,000 spectators.
There will also be a 4,000-square-foot Main Club for events and a 4,000-square-foot team shop where fans can buy merchandise.
The Orlando Business Journal also reported that 31,000 square feet will be devoted to fan amenities. Some things other stadiums have considered include Wi-Fi, holders for devices on seats and other things that will draw people away from their televisions and into the stands.
Included in the 18,000 seats will be 2,500 club seats and suites that can hold 300. By comparison, David Beckham's soccer stadium in Miami will hold 25,000. Old Trafford, the home to Manchester United, holds more than 75,000.
Unlike Beckham's project, which has been heavily criticized, Orlando's new stadium is expected to bring in $1.2 billion impact to the region over the next 30 years, according to the Orlando Business Journal.
"This is an incredible opportunity for the City of Orlando to ingrain soccer into the fabric of the city with the design of a new, soccer-specific urban stadium," said Bruce Miller, Principal at Populous and leader of the design team. "Our design team is excited to work to capture the spirit of both the city and the fan base in our design to create a stadium that will be vibrant, intimate and iconic. It's an opportunity for the team to redefine the soccer experience for an entire region."
In addition to the new stadium, Orlando City SC is also drawing attention for its off-season activity as a franchise.
Jonah Freedman at MLSsoccer.com reported March 30 the 31-year-old Brazilian star Ricardo Kaká had made a verbal agreement to join the team for the 2015 MLS season.
