Magic Co-Founder Seeks MLB Expansion Sequel?

Pat Williams helped bring the Orlando Magic to life back in the 1980s. Now, he hopes to bring a baseball team to the city.

Jeremy Brener | May 3, 2023

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

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Orlando Magic

ORLANDO - It's been 38 years since the ball started rolling with Jim L. Hewitt and Pat Williams on bringing professional sports to central Florida and creating the Orlando Magic. Now, the latter is looking to bring another professional sports team to Orlando once more.

According to WESH 2 News reporter Daren Stoltzfus, Magic co-founder Williams, 83, is part of the Major League Baseball expansion group in Orlando that is seeking a $1.7 billion fund to build a ballpark.

"Yes, we love the Magic, we have the soccer, but until baseball is in your city, you're not a major league city," Williams said. "And we're ready to be a major league city."

Williams cites four things the Orlando expansion group needs in order to build a new team ... marketplace, a ballpark, a front office staff and an owner that buys into the vision and would enjoy owning a baseball team. The city already has the marketplace and is in the process of finding funding for the ballpark. Once those come in, a front office staff and owner should follow.

The Orlando expansion group is monitoring the situation regarding the Tampa Bay Rays' relationship with Tropicana Field, a stadium that struggles to bring in fans due to its location in St. Petersburg, roughly 30 minutes away from the team's main fanbase in Tampa.

The expansion group would be interested in offering a spot for potential relocation for the Rays should the team be unable to find a new ballpark option in the Tampa or St. Pete area. However, St. Petersburg owner Ken Welch is cooperating with the Rays on looking to build a new, modernized ballpark in the city and have it open in 2028, per CBS Sports.

That would mean Orlando's likelier route would be to be awarded an expansion franchise, where it will compete alongside cities like Nashville, Montreal and Salt Lake City to become one of two new MLB teams.

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Published May 3, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.