Group's lawsuit claims sale of land for Orlando City stadium illegal

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A deal to sell land to the Orlando City Soccer Club that was agreed upon Monday afternoon could be in jeopardy.

The deal between the team and Orlando City Council members means Orlando City Soccer Club will pay millions for the land where the new stadium is being built.

But shortly after the deal was approved, a group filed a lawsuit to stop the sale of the land, saying some of it was being taken through eminent domain, making the sale illegal.

Construction of the $155 million stadium is all privately funded.

On Friday, commissioners approved $18 million for the city land in Parramore.

“The people in Parramore have said enough is enough. Why do you continue to violate the law?” said community activist Lawanna Gelzer.

Gelzer and others are asking a judge to stop the sale of the land.

They claim the city is trying to sell the land to a private buyer before they are legally allowed to.

“The law said you can’t sell it, lease it or rent it for 10 years, and that’s all we are going by,” she said.

Cassandra Lafser, a spokeswoman for the city, said in an email, “We have reviewed and the property at 601 W. Church Street is not part of the sale of land to the soccer team, and therefore, the statute cited is inapplicable.”

City officials said because the case was filed so late, they have not been served the lawsuit and could not find it in the system.

The city originally purchased the land when it was speculated that the new stadium would be partly built with public money. That effort failed when state house lawmakers ended the legislative session early, last spring.

The stadium was scheduled to be built in 2016, but now, it’s slated to be ready for the beginning of 2017. The stadium will hold more than 25,000 soccer fans.

The Orlando City Soccer Club will pay the city back its $18 million over a 15-year period.

WFTV