{"id":2788,"date":"2015-03-11T10:14:15","date_gmt":"2015-03-11T10:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ocfl.flywheelsites.com\/2015\/03\/region-exceeds-fillthebowl-challenge-at-inaugural-mls-game\/"},"modified":"2022-01-12T12:13:21","modified_gmt":"2022-01-12T17:13:21","slug":"region-exceeds-fillthebowl-challenge-at-inaugural-mls-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2015\/03\/region-exceeds-fillthebowl-challenge-at-inaugural-mls-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Region Exceeds #FillTheBowl Challenge at Inaugural MLS Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

History was made as Central Florida successfully met the challenge to #FilltheBowl for the Orlando City Lions\u2019 inaugural game as the newest Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise.<\/p>\n

More than 62,500 soccer fans dressed in purple cheered at the renovated Citrus Bowl stadium as the Lions faced the New York City Football Club. The sold-out game was a 1-1 draw with Orlando superstar Ricardo Kak\u00e1 scoring the lone goal for the Lions.<\/p>\n

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs was on the field for the official opening ceremonies prior to the 5 p.m. game, which was televised in more than 100 countries and ESPN2.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the best sports in the world has come to Orlando. And Orange County \u2013 which is one of the best communities in the world \u2013 is proud to join other Major League Soccer cities on the international stage,\u201d Mayor Jacobs said. \u201cWe truly #FilledtheBowl at the Orlando Citrus Bowl for the inaugural Orlando City Soccer Club game against the New York City Football Club and I am so proud of how our community came together to make history this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other dignitaries on the field included member of Orange County\u2019s Board of County Commissioners, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, MLS Commissioner Don Garber, Orlando City Soccer owner Fl\u00e1vio Augusto da Silva and Orlando City Soccer President Phil Rawlins.<\/p>\n

The campaign #FilltheBowl launched last month and was a major success, with the last tickets selling a week before the game. With high demand, additional standing room only tickets were added in the days leading up to the game.<\/p>\n

Fan attendance is the largest ever recorded for a soccer game at the Citrus Bowl, surpassing previous crowds during the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The game drew the second highest attendance numbers during an inaugural MLS match.<\/p>\n

In October 2014, Mayor Jacobs joined the community in celebrating the historic groundbreaking of Orlando City Soccer\u2019s new stadium in downtown Orlando, which was followed by a construction start in November. The \u201cMarch to the Match<\/a>\u201d celebration, on October 16, marked a monumental milestone in the continued transformation of Orange County into a mecca of economic, cultural and sports opportunities, which are essential to supporting the region\u2019s increasingly diverse and creative population.<\/p>\n

The stadium is part of Orange County\u2019s approved use of tourism tax dollars for a $94.5 million venues package, marking the transformational era of sports, creativity and arts-driven economic development and innovation for the region.<\/p>\n

The Orlando City Lions will play in their new stadium beginning in the 2016 season. The new stadium is considered one of the best facilities for sports in the country. With capacity for 19,500, the stadium will include a full-roof canopy built to enhance crowd noise, a natural grass playing surface, a sunken field and a scoreboard balcony bar. Along with the new MLS soccer stadium, local citizens will enjoy 19 new, multi-use athletic fields, perfect for soccer throughout Orange County.<\/p>\n

Orange County\u2019s approval of a new, multi-use, soccer-centric stadium played a key role in the creation of the new MLS team. Global soccer icon and team captain Ricardo Kak\u00e1 joined the Orlando City Soccer Club in 2014, boosting the club\u2019s transformation into the 21st franchise of the MLS.<\/p>\n

The week leading up to Sunday\u2019s game was filled with events organized by Orlando City Soccer Club, including a benefit for the Orlando City Foundation, a Purple Pride 5K Run, an Orlando City Pub Crawl, and Soccer Under the Stars, a free night of movie, popcorn and games at the Lake Eola amphitheater. The Lions will play the remaining 2015 season at the renovated Citrus Bowl.<\/p>\n

A collection of photos from the MLS game<\/a> are available for use by the media and are located on Flickr.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

History was made as Central Florida successfully met the challenge to #FilltheBowl for the Orlando City Lions\u2019 inaugural game as the newest Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5286,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[57,59,24,29,25,137,453],"class_list":["post-2788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-services","tag-camping-world-stadium","tag-citrus-bowl","tag-county-news","tag-featured-stories","tag-mayor-jacobs","tag-orlando-city-soccer-club","tag-soccer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRegion Exceeds #FillTheBowl Challenge at Inaugural MLS Game<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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