Orlando City SC — known locally as The Lions — is a competitive club in Major League Soccer (MLS), drawing a crowd of more than 60,000 people in its first home opener — and breaking average attendance records during its first season.
Thousands of fans continue to flood to the stadium to cheer on the Lions each match since, regularly hitting the 25,000-plus mark. But it wasn’t always that popular — the soccer club had humble beginnings before becoming a local sports favorite. The now-thriving club is the result of planning and efforts from some key players including Phil Rawlins, who helped build the team (and its current stadium) from the ground up.
A decade ago, Rawlins was part of a decision to obtain the rights for a USL PRO team in Central Florida, moving the Austin Aztex to Orlando. Securing a major jersey sponsor in the transition helped to fuel the team’s early success — in fact, it won the league championship in 2011 and again in 2013.
But for Phil Rawlins, then owner and president, he already had his eye on an even bigger prize — breaking into the MLS. Thanks to the success of the team, it wasn’t long before MLS noticed the Lions and hinted at awarding the club a franchise. But there were hurdles to be overcome before this was achieved, recalls Phil Rawlins.
Building the Future of Orlando City SC
One of the conditions of becoming part of the MLS was to have a home stadium that is dedicated to soccer. Prior to that, the team had been operating out of the Camping World Stadium (Orlando Citrus Bowl), which was also used for football.
This was no small feat for a growing club, explains Phil Rawlins. Add to that the fact that although it was to be a publicly-owned facility, funding of $30 million from the state was delayed, which prompted the ownership team to take on the project completely on their own financially — including the construction of the stadium and the acquisition of the land it sits on. Through a lot of work behind the scenes — Phil Rawlins reportedly negotiated the land deal for the Orlando City SC site with Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer in a hotel bar — and the support of fans helped them move ahead with the project.
At the same time, the team recognized the popularity of the club and decided to expand the capacity of the new stadium to beyond 25,000, compared to the original plans for around 19,000. This also meant a bigger funding challenge: the cost grew from around $110 million to $155 million in the process.
Thanks to having the stadium plans in place — and having the financial backing of entrepreneur Flávio Augusto da Silva who became the majority owner — Orlando City FC was officially awarded franchise status in November 2013. The dedicated soccer facility — now known as Exploria Stadium — began construction in 2014, and was completed in time for the 2017 home opener.
It wasn’t just the soccer facility that Phil Rawlins was a part of making a reality. His efforts in shaping Orlando City FC into a force also helped attract major talent prior to the team’s professional league kickoff in 2015 — for example, Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (Kaká), who is a former FIFA World Player of The Year, played for Orlando City FC from 2015 to 2017. Even the fans that the team attracted were of high-profile, helping fuel a secure future for the club.
Two new teams also sprung from the success of Orlando City FC: namely the USL’s Orlando City B, as well as a new National Women’s Soccer League Team called Orlando Pride.
Personal Accolades for Phil Rawlins
The efforts of Orlando City FC founder Phil Rawlins to help create a successful MLS franchise did not go unnoticed.
He received a prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year honor from a well-known business magazine in 2014. Not only that, he was also inducted into the USL PRO Hall of Fame in recognition of helping The Lions grow as a team, as well as helping to guide the league’s franchisees through the USL PRO’s Board of Governors.
In 2016, Phil was named “Life President” of Orlando City Soccer Club, a rare title in the soccer world. In 2017, he stepped back from day-to-day operations and officially retired to Steamboat Springs, CO, with his wife, Carrie, and his two step-children, Beck and Cassie. An avid skier, golfer, and nature enthusiast, Phil is now found happily playing in the Rocky Mountains while continuing to be a passive investor in the soccer world with his wife, Carrie, also an entrepreneur.
While Phil Rawlins is now retired, he looks back fondly on his time building Orlando City FC and looks excitedly to the future of the team’s success within MLS.
