Orlando Dreamers reveal major financial backers for bringing a MLB franchise to Orlando

Alastair Mac
Apr 30
4 min read

The Orlando Dreamers has secured financial commitments approaching $1.5 billion in equity for team acquisition, together with team portion of stadium financing also exceeding $1 billion.

Orlando Dreamers reveal major financial backers for bringing a MLB franchise to Orlando

The Orlando City Baseball Dreamers ("Orlando Dreamers") announced that significant further progress has been achieved in finalizing sufficient capital for bringing a Major League Baseball ("MLB") franchise to Orlando. Barry Larkin, the MLB Ambassador for the Dreamers, confirmed that qualified investors have provided preliminary letters of intent and verbal commitments approaching $1.5 billion in equity investments.

"We are extremely pleased with the recent rapid progress in financing interest towards a prospective MLB team acquisition," said Larkin. "It is clear that these seasoned investors understand the compelling opportunity represented by our unsurpassed market metrics and proposed state-of-the-art domed stadium, located right in the middle of the Orange County tourist corridor that will welcome approximately 80 million tourists this year." Larkin further confirmed that the Dreamers have a letter of intent for stadium financing in excess of $1 billion.

Jim Schnorf, Co-Founder of the Orlando Dreamers, added, "Enthusiasm for an Orlando MLB franchise has hit a fever pitch in recent weeks, inspired by Barry's leadership."

According to Schnorf, "We feel the heavy lifting part of team acquisition financing and stadium financing has been accomplished. Finding the right anchor investor in our control ownership group and an attractive financing structure for the team's portion of stadium construction were clearly the most challenging aspects. We are completely confident in arranging any supplemental senior debt financing that might be relevant for team acquisition to supplement the equity investment already identified. Our stadium funding letter of intent from a major institutional partner will provide more than $1 billion towards construction costs, under an arrangement that is highly attractive to Orange County government and citizens, team ownership, and Major League Baseball."

Schnorf also confirmed that the Dreamers are moving forward with plans to add staff and move from interim quarters in the Maitland area to more permanent downtown office space. "We were approached very recently by a very successful businessperson with ties to Central Florida who is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about baseball, desiring to invest in our enterprise. Based on the quality of this individual, we mutually confirmed our first external investment which will allow us to expedite certain key advancements in our initiative, demonstrating to MLB that Orlando is much further along than any other market pursuing a franchise. Our plan has been to be fully prepared for whatever path brings an opportunity for Major League Baseball in Orange County."

Andy Herdliska, who will be managing the Dreamers' downtown office, added further commentary on the progress. "The media interest in the last 30 days has been continuous and entirely supportive of our effort. We will be re-igniting our outreach to the Central Florida fan base in the coming weeks as we build on the momentum that is in place with the incredible financing progress that our MLB plan has created. With numerous MLB teams experiencing stadium-related challenges or indicating potential interest in selling, the Dreamers have multiple opportunities for potential MLB franchise acquisition, including landing one of the two expansion teams Major League Baseball will add this decade."

Orlando is experiencing a surge in tourism with meaningful growth expected from the opening of the new Universal Epic Universe theme park located a short distance from the Dreamers' proposed stadium site. The Orlando metro area is the most visited destination in the country and recently passed Denver to become the #15 media market in the country. It is anticipated that Orlando will pass Detroit in 2025 to become the #14 media market in the country, the largest without an MLB team.

The Orlando Dreamers previously reported that based on an independent study completed in 2023, bringing Major League Baseball to Orlando and playing in the planned domed stadium located on the 35.5-acre parcel adjacent to SeaWorld and the Orange County Convention Center will yield approximately 25,000 permanent jobs and create in excess of $40 billion in economic impact to Orange County over 30 years. In addition, the study concluded that the MLB initiative would generate an additional $26 million annually in tourist development taxes (TDT).

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