Orlando City SC's new downtown stadium throughout the construction process has been called Orlando City Stadium, and it is "possible that name will stand when the season opens there March 5," according to Alicia DelGallo of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. Orlando City CEO Alex Leitão at the start of '17 was "optimistic about negotiations for the naming rights." He said on Jan. 2 that the club was "in advanced talks with one potential partner." But the announcement "never came." Orlando City VP/Corporate Partnerships Rob Parker said that previous negotiations "fell apart and discussions are now ongoing with multiple potential partners." He said, "I can’t share the reasons why some of those didn’t come to fruition. It’s not an issue with the club, with the value or anything like that. It’s just, sometimes these things don’t happen for one reason or another." Parker said that he "cannot reveal which organizations are in the mix due to non-disclosure agreements, but they include local, national and global companies." He "did not have a timeline for when the naming rights may be finalized." The eventual partner’s name will "grace five areas in the new stadium, based on master signage plans submitted to the city, including the upper left corner of a 1,935-square-foot image of the Lions’ logo painted on architectural metal panels" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 2/23).
