Orlando City will announce its plans to build a new training facility in Lake Nona for Orlando City, Orlando City B and the team’s youth development academy, Paul Tenorio and Mary Shanklin of the Orlando Sentinel report.
The 23-acre training facility is set to open in 2017 and will include six practice fields, a training and performance center, club locker rooms, classrooms and film rooms for the teams and players and a rehab and injury center.
“Our goal is to build one of the best [soccer] clubs in the world,” club president Phil Rawlins told the Orlando Sentinel. “Those are not marketing lines. Those goals and ambitions are what drives me every morning, every day. … This is what we’re building; this is a club that’s going places. We want to be one of the best clubs in North America and we are within touching distance of that in the next few years and we will push on from there.”
Orlando City currently trains out of the Sylvan Lake Training Center in Seminole County. The team has made significant investments in that facility, putting in $2 million to improve locker rooms and general facilities, and remains committed to Seminole County. The Orlando Pride will remain at that facility even when Orlando City leaves it behind.
Orlando City has always trained in Seminole County since its founding. It appears to have outgrown the facility and all the upgrades they have made to it. It will not leave the county or its influence in Seminole County developing soccer on that area of Central Florida.
Clearly though, the team is getting bigger with more ambitions that have outgrown a smaller facility.
Lake Nona has been investing in bringing sports training facilities to the subdivision area. A USTA training center for tennis will be build in Lake Nona too — adjacent to where Orlando City plans to build its facility.
