Orlando Group Wants to Build Pro Baseball Stadium Near Disney World

Could the Theme Park capital of the world also become the permanent home of a Major League Baseball team? That’s one man’s dream.

On Tuesday, May 9, Pat Williams made his pitch for MLB Orlando, sharing concept art for a state-of-the-art privately-funded ballpark strategically located between Universal Orlando Resort and the Walt Disney World Resort.

According to WESH 2 reporter Daren Stolzfus, Williams unveiled plans for an Orange County ballpark as well as a potential name for its residents. In tune with NBA’s Orlando Magic, Williams suggested the team should be called the “Orlando Dreamers.” The name makes sense, considering its proximity to a place once officially referred to as “The Place Where Dreams Come True.”

Check it out:

Here’s the first reveal of the site and exterior of the potential ballpark in Orange County

High speed and local commuter rails are right by this spot. 6 miles apart from Disney and Universal. #MLBtoOrlando pic.twitter.com/WQN9kzWkHe

— Daren Stoltzfus WESH (@DarenStoltzfus) May 9, 2023

“We are the city of Dreamers,” he said, “until somebody comes up with a better name.”

The entire project is set to cost $975 million, and while he and his #MLBtoOrlando team proposed this development to Orange County to be built with tourist tax dollars (the verdict of which will be known by this July), he believes that it is still feasible to do through private finance.

Williams says he wants a team name that represents the community.

“Dreamers” is a nod to Walt Disney and Arnold Palmer and John Young and other big dreams in Orlando.

“We are the city of Dreamers… until somebody comes up with a better name”#MLBtoOrlando

— Daren Stoltzfus WESH (@DarenStoltzfus) May 9, 2023

Williams made the pitch in the hopes of attracting an MLB expansion team, but he also mentioned that it could become the new home of the Tampa Bay Rays if the ongoing discussions for a new stadium end in vain.

The Rays gained new familiarity with Orange County and the Orlando Metro Area this year as they spent their Spring Training playing at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World.

This proposal also comes at a time when the hubs of South and Central Florida are about to become more interconnected than ever before, thanks to the new high-speed passenger rail system Brightline. We are mere weeks away from the grand opening of its new station at Orlando International Airport–which will connect Orlando to Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and the rest of Southeast Florida–and afterwards, it will continue its expansion down to Tampa with stops made near the Orange County Convention Center and International Drive (made in partnership with the local commuter train, SunRail).

“We’re not Miami. We’re not St. Pete. We’re Orlando, an entirely different market,” he said.

Would you want to add a Major League Baseball game to your Disney World vacation?