Architects, Dyer and Lions to brainstorm ideas for MLS stadium design

Now that local politicians and team owners have decided Orlando will get a Major League Soccer stadium, they have to decide what it will look like.

Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orlando City Soccer Club president Phil Rawlins and others from the city's anointed MLS team travel to Kansas City, Kan., for a two-day design workshop today and Wednesday. They'll brainstorm with architects from Populous, the firm hired to design the new stadium.

"I'm a big believer in doing this getting all the parties involved in the same room to talk about concepts and which way to go," Dyer said.

They will focus on big-picture ideas for the design of the $84 million stadium. A fine-tuned blueprint will come later.

City officials participated in similar brainstorming sessions with architects in the early stages of designing both the Amway Center arena and the upcoming renovation of the Citrus Bowl stadium. One of those sessions yielded the 180-foot color-changing steel spire that has become the Amway Center's most prominent feature.

Some details of the stadium are already known: It is supposed to be a modern, state-of-the-art facility seating about 18,000 people. Fans will have a roof over their heads, and the field will be open to the sky. There will be a supporter section; corner terraces; about 2,500 club seats; 300 seats in luxury suites; and a premium club with a bar and restaurant.

But its appearance and how distinctive it will be from other MLS stadiums is up in the air.

Designers likely will draw inspiration from some of the newest MLS stadiums, including BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston and Sporting Park in Kansas City, though the latter facility, at more than twice the cost of Orlando's, is likely more elaborate than Lions fans can expect.

Dyer toured both those facilities last year during the debate about whether to commit public money to the project. Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs toured PPL Park, home of the Philadelphia Union.

Populous, formerly known as HOK Sport, is a leading sports architecture firm with an impressive list of athletic facilities around the world, including the soccer stadiums in Kansas City and Houston, and Orlando's own Amway Center.

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Architects, Dyer and Lions to brainstorm ideas for MLS stadium design