Sports in Orlando, Florida facts for kids
Orlando, Florida has a history of major events in sports. It has had a considerable measure of success in minor league sports as well, with teams winning several minor league championships.
International soccer
Orlando has hosted matches for several high-profile international soccer tournaments. In the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Orlando's Citrus Bowl hosted five matches—four group-stage matches and one Round of 16 match—with Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Morocco each playing multiple matches at the stadium. Each of the five games drew an attendance of over 60,000.
Orlando also hosted six group stage matches for the 1996 Summer Olympics men's soccer tournament—three each in Groups B and D—with an average attendance of over 20,000 per game. Orlando also hosted three Group E matches for the 1996 women's tournament, with similar attendance figures.
Venues
| Venue | Capacity | Opened | Owner | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium | 61,348 | 1936 | City of Orlando | Orlando City SC |
| Bright House Networks Stadium | 45,323 | 2007 | University of Central Florida | UCF football |
| UCF Soccer and Track Stadium | 2,000 | 1991 | University of Central Florida | |
| Jay Bergman Field | 3,600 | 2001 | University of Central Florida | |
| CFE Arena | 9,465 | 2006 | University of Central Florida | UCF basketball |
| Amway Center | 20,000 | 2010 | City of Orlando | Orlando Magic; Orlando Solar Bears |
| Orlando City Stadium | 25,500 | 2017 | City of Orlando | Orlando City Soccer Club |
Other sports
Orlando is also the home to the NBA Pre-Draft camp, the NBA's Orlando Summer League, the MLB Winter Meetings, the NFL Annual Meeting, and since 2005, the PSP World Cup paintball tournament. They also host the final event of the extreme sport Dew Tour, the PlayStation Pro. Orlando hosted the Major League Baseball Draft for several years until 2009, when they moved to the studios of MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey.
The Arnold Palmer Invitational is a PGA Tour tournament held at Bay Hill since 1966.
The Citrus Bowl hosted WWE's WrestleMania XXIV in 2008 and WrestleMania 33 in 2017. Amway Arena played host to WWE's Royal Rumble in 1990 and World Championship Wrestling's Bash at the Beach in 1994, as well as WWE's 2008 Hall of Fame ceremony, headlined by the induction of Ric Flair. The Amway Center has hosted the 2016 Royal Rumble and WWE's 2017 Hall of Fame ceremony. In 2020, WWE began a residency in the Amway Center that included their weekly television tapings and multiple major shows, starting with SummerSlam. Orlando also hosted television tapings for WCW at varying times in the 1990s, both at Disney-MGM Studios and Universal Studios Florida. Impact Wrestling has also held a majority of its shows at Universal Studios. The WWE Performance Center, the official pro wrestling school of WWE, is also located in Orlando. It is the current home venue of WWE's NXT brand. It has also served as the site of WrestleMania 36, several other pay-per-views and numerous WWE television tapings during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The annual Community Effort Orlando (CEO) is the second biggest fighting game tournament of the country. Having grown exponentially since its introduction in 2010, the event got over 4,000 attendees from more than 25 different countries in 2016. Its Street Fighter tournament has been part of the Capcom Pro Tour since its start in 2014.
In 2020, the remaining games of the 2019-20 NBA season were arranged to be played in the NBA Bubble at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, part of Walt Disney World.
Famous athletes
Many major athletes are from Orlando, such as:
- baseball players: A. J. Pierzynski and Johnny Damon
- American football players: Warren Sapp, Chris Johnson, Brandon Meriweather, Deacon Jones, Brandon Siler, Mike Sims-Walker, Brandon Marshall, Blake Bortles and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix
- basketball players: Chandler Parsons, Amar'e Stoudemire and Darius Washington
- soccer player: Michelle Akers
Orlando is home to many notable athletes former and present, including:
- baseball players: Carlos Peña, Frank Viola, Pedro Feliz and Ken Griffey Jr.
- basketball player: Shaquille O'Neal
- many golfers, including Tiger Woods and Mark O'Meara. The area's golf professionals reside largely in the Isleworth and Lake Nona neighborhoods.
