Season tickets for the expansion NWSL Orlando Pride went on sale to the public yesterday, and parent club Orlando City SC Founder & President Phil Rawlins said that he "expects about 10,000 people per game during the women's home contests next season," according to Alicia DelGallo of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. That figure "would rank the Pride No. 2 in the league, behind only the Portland Thorns, which drew an average of 15,639 this year." Rawlins: "We had pre-sales for the Pride this week ... and I'm delighted to tell you we're already well over 1,300 season tickets sold. If you track that alongside the MLS pre-sales, it's actually tracking ahead of where the MLS pre-sales were in the first week." The Pride announced they will hold a news conference at 2:00pm ET today, where they will make "a significant team announcement." DelGallo notes many are "speculating the announcement will be the long-awaited confirmation that the Pride will acquire USWNT member Alex Morgan" from the Thorns in a trade (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 10/26).
NOT SO SUBTLE: In Orlando, Mike Bianchi compared Orlando City SC's signing of Brazilian MF Kaká to the Pride's rumored trade for Morgan and asks, "Does anybody make a bigger splash than Orlando City?" Some in the soccer community are "wringing their hands and saying the Orlando Pride is giving up too much to acquire Morgan in a trade." Bianchi: "Stop it! She's the most marketable star in all of women's soccer. Her name and face will put more fans in the seats than 100 draft picks" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 10/24).
