Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer is brimming with confidence that his city will be a two pro-sports team town before the summer is over.
Dyer, in an interview on sports radio station 740-AM Thursday, said bluntly that a Major League Soccer expansion into Orlando "is going to happen."
The biggest hurdle that needs to be cleared is funding for a soccer-specific stadium to be built in downtown area near the existing venues of the Amway Center and Citrus Bowl stadium. MLS has repeatedly said that without plans for a stadium that would hold around 18,000 to 22,000 fans, Orlando would not be in the running for an expansion team.
The Orlando City Lions currently play at the Citrus Bowl, but MLS prefers their clubs to have their own stadiums so there is less revenue-sharing and more money to take in from naming rights.
Despite no state funding from a bill that did not get voted on in the Florida Legislature last month, Dyer said that the group is close to securing the funding that is needed to officially announce plans for the stadium, which then, he says, will green-light the MLS expansion.
"I would anticipate, if we can get (funding from Orange County's tourist tax fund) done in the next couple of weeks, you could see a franchise awarded during the summertime," Dyer told the radio station.
The Lions are currently in their third season of operation, winning the USL Pro league championship in 2011 and losing in the league's semifinals in 2012. The team is currently in the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open Cup, a tournament that involves teams from various leagues across the country. In fact, Orlando City has already beaten Colorado and Sporting KC -- both MLS clubs -- in the tournament, and will face the Chicago Fire next Wednesday.
If Orlando is awarded an expansion franchise, it likely would begin play in the MLS in 2015.