Central Florida Vacation Rental Manager's Association (CFVRMA), the largest group of vacation rental manager’s in the state of Florida, have endorsed Orlando City Soccer Club’s (OCSC) bid to become a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise.
Following the news that a site has been chosen for the new downtown multipurpose soccer stadium, CFVRMA has decided to throw its support behind the bid for MLS in Central Florida. Wednesday, Mayor Buddy Dyer announced the $8.2 million site for the stadium as being the two blocks bordered by Central Boulevard, Church Street, Terry and Parramore Avenues. If the bid is successful, Orlando could be awarded a franchise by this December and play in MLS in 2015.
“ The vacation rental industry in Central Florida has largely flown under the radar for approximately two decades,” said CFVRMA Vice President Nigel Worrall. “In that time, the industry has grown to create over 33,000 local jobs and to bring an economic impact of over $1.7 Billion to the local economy, largely in Osceola and Polk counties.”
“We believe the time is right for Orlando to have another major league sporting team and we’d like to play a part in helping that bid,” Worrall continued. “Approximately $12 million dollars a year is created by the vacation home industry in tourist development taxes in Osceola County alone. Orange County, by comparison, collects just a small fraction of that from vacation rentals. We’d like to change that and help bring more dollars to the county. We believe we can contribute a similar amount to that collected in Osceola County if given the opportunity and that would undoubtedly help Orange County with future projects and planning.”
“We are proud to have the support of the CFVRMA,” said Orlando City President Phil Rawlins. “Tourism is important to our organization as we strive to bring a MLS franchise to Orlando by 2015.”
-from CFVRMA news release.