USL Pro club Orlando City SC, "facing mounting pressure, has backed off its push to secure field space at new public parks being built by Orange County taxpayers and partially funded by the team," according to David Damron of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. Orlando City is set to join MLS in '15. The club's "fight over public soccer fields" with the county "had escalated in recent weeks, and threatened to hold up taxpayer subsidies" the team needs to build an $84M downtown stadium. In return for $20M in county stadium funding, the club agreed to pay $3M over 15 years to "help run new community athletic fields, plus help expand youth soccer locally." But as part of that deal, the team said that it "wanted to secure prime playing times on those 14 new fields so it could run its free outreach programs for disadvantaged youth." Orlando City's lobbying effort "to lock in space on the new fields drove competing youth soccer clubs to unite in opposition" to the team. The new alliance, "calling itself the Central Florida Youth Soccer Coalition, viewed the MLS team's push as a predatory attempt to drive off other clubs whose youth programs similarly struggle for playing space." Word that Orlando City "had retreated was welcomed news to the group." The field-usage issue "will now go to a county parks and recreation advisory board, where an appointed citizen panel would weigh various requests for how to share the new space" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 3/8).
