Orlando City SC yesterday hosted NYCFC in the first game at Orlando City Stadium before an "announced crowd of 25,527, 27 over capacity," and the stands "physically rumbled during the match," according to Alicia DelGallo of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. The wall at the stadium featuring supporter groups "looked like a purple mountain dotted with waving flags" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 3/6). Orlando City SC CEO Alex Leitão said that it "wasn’t a flawless season opener, but he was pleased the problems were not massively disruptive." He said that staff members yesterday "created a list and would work to address issues that popped up anywhere in and around the stadium." Leitão: "It’s hard when you open; you have to learn how to operate the stadium. But for this night, it’s been unbelievably awesome. I’m very, very happy." MLS Commissioner Don Garber yesterday said that he "would honor a promise" by having Orlando City Stadium host the MLS All-Star Game "soon." In Orlando, Iliana Limon Romero notes the stadium will host the game "whenever club officials decide they’re ready to put on a good show." Chicago is slated to host the next All-Star Game. Garber: "I don’t have a date, but we’ve made a commitment." The All-Star promise is "listed in the league’s contract with Orlando City the two parties signed as the Lions moved to open their new stadium." Leitão said that the club is "moving as swiftly as it can to get adapted to the new stadium and put itself in a position to host the all-star game as soon as possible" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 3/6).
THE LION GUARD: ESPN’s Alejandro Moreno said anyone who has "ever been involved in MLS would be proud" of Orlando City Stadium. Moreno: "This is where we wanted the league to be. This sort of place, this sort of environment -- this is special.” ESPN's Julie Stewart-Binks noted the wall at the stadium's north end is the first "standing supporter section ever" in an MLS stadium, with "almost 4,000 of the team's most passionate fans." Stewart-Binks: "It's loud, it's proud and this is distinctly Orlando City." ESPN's Sebastian Salazar noted the wall is "reminiscent of the German club Borussia Dortmund’s world famous yellow wall." Salazar also pointed out the 49 rainbow-colored seats that honor the victims of last year's Pulse nightclub shooting and called them a "clear sign of solidarity with the LGBTQ community and perhaps the most poignant connection between this club and the community that supports it” ("NYCFC-Orlando City," ESPN, 3/5).
SOME KINKS TO IRON OUT: In Orlando, Christian Simmons notes while most fans are "happy about the new stadium, not everyone approved of the new tailgating set up." Fans also "faced long lines that moved slowly as they started to enter the venue." Club officials said that they were "keeping track of everything that wasn’t perfect and vowed to keep improving the game-day experience" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 3/6). The ORLANDO SENTINEL's Mike Bianchi in a front-page piece writes under the header, "Orlando City And The City Of Orlando Both Win Big With New Stadium."
