Local

Orlando City Soccer Club joins MLS

ORLANDO, Fla. — Major League Soccer announced Tuesday evening that Orlando will be awarded an expansion team.

Orlando's new MLS team, Orlando City Soccer Club, will join for the league's 20th season, according to a release.

The National Media and the owners of Orlando City Soccer provided WFTV on Wednesday with new information about what happens between now and the team's first match in Major League Soccer.

The club will go to Tallahassee to argue for an additional $30 million in February.

As part of the preparations for joining the MLS, the club will debut a new logo and uniform design next year.

They will keep the color purple and the Lions nickname.

With the addition of Orlando, MLS has added 11 clubs since the beginning of the 2005 season, according a release from MLS. Three more expansion teams will be added by 2020.

The City Lions were named the newest addition to Major League Soccer in front of hundreds of their supporters.

Orlando City Soccer made history in front of hundreds of fans who packed the Cheyenne saloon.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber told Eyewitness News the soccer club starts its transition phase with building season tickets and commercial support, but not before one big step is made.

"Very importantly these guys will start building a stadium," Garber said.

Tuesday signified the final stage of bringing Major League Soccer to Orlando.

Mayor Buddy Dyer said they will soon move into the final designs for the stadium.

"We still have a couple parcels of land that we need to secure, but we should probably (in) the early summer, late spring, start construction on the stadium," Dyer said.

Many of the biggest hurdles have already been cleared, but with a 2015 start date for play, the city and the county will have to stick to a strict timetable.

In the meantime, everyone just enjoyed the celebration.

"Ten years, 20 years from now, I know I'll look back and say, 'Wow, I'm so glad I was here,'" Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said.

"We know how to win, we know how to compete, all of that came out today and it was just great to see that and share it with the fans," Orlando City Soccer President Phil Rawlins said.