Exploria Stadium Raises the Bar for MLS Game Day Experience

Exploria Stadium, Orlando City Soccer Club’s new home, greets opposing teams with an atmosphere of intensity beyond that of any other venue in Major League Soccer. The new facility cements Orlando as a regional center for sport and the home of one of the most intimate sporting venues in the country. To become a purpose-built icon of soccer, the stadium boasts the closest first row and steepest upper seating bowl in the league. Aluminum canopies offer shade to fans and increase the match day intimidation factor by reflecting crowd cheers back to the pitch.

“Our new facility truly reflects the energy and intensity of the growing soccer market here in the United States,” said Orlando City Soccer Club CEO Alex Leitao. “From the start, Populous understood we were designing for soccer first, everything else came second. As a result, we’re extremely proud of the new home they have helped us create for the Orlando City SC and Orlando Pride.”

Located on the Orlando sports corridor directly between Amway Center and Camping World Stadium, the new stadium combines local, regional and international influences from the European Premier League-style seating bowl down to the dedicated concourse walls for local artists to create a deeper connection to the community.

Exploria Stadium was the first in North America with a safe-standing section.

“Being able to describe features of the stadium as the first, the closest and the steepest really tells the story of what kind of impact it will have on the league,” said Populous Senior Principal Bruce Miller. “From the sightlines to the seat-to-pitch proximity, it’s optimized for the ultimate match day experience.”

With more than a decade of soccer stadium design experience, our other recent MLS work includes D.C. United’s Audi Field and Minnesota United FC’s Allianz Field. Populous-designed soccer stadiums were recently ranked first, second and third out of all MLS stadiums by The Guardian.

For more on how purpose-built soccer stadiums can elevate team success and continue to drive the growth of the MLS market, contact Bruce Miller.