Orlando City Soccer Club majority owner Flavio Augusto da Silva announced on Wednesday that he is selling the team to the Wilf family, owners of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings.
Da Silva shared the news of the pending sale in a statement on the club's website. In addition to the MLS team, the Wilf Family will also take control of the NWSL's Orlando Pride and Exploria Stadium.
"With their passion for the sport and Orlando’s two teams that are in position to compete for trophies, I am confident that the Wilf family will continue to push Orlando City SC to new heights and lead the Club into this next phase, both on and off the field," da Silva said.
Da Silva expects the sale to be complete within the next two months.
The current owner took control of the franchise in 2013 and helped original owner Phil Rawlins grow it from a minor league team into a beloved professional club. Under da Silva, Orlando City joined the MLS in 2o15 and finished their home stadium in 2017. In a rare move for sports team owners, da Silva funded the downtown stadium privately, without taking any taxpayer money. Compare that to the Vikings home dome, which received hundreds of millions of dollars from the state of Minnesota and a Minneapolis hospitality tax.
While da Silva has high hopes for the future of the team under the Wilfs, we'll take a wait and see approach. At the very least, we know they dig the color scheme.
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