Orlando has arrived as a sports town, the free agents will come
The Orlando Magic failed to attract a big-name free agent. But in the last several years, the town has transformed as a market. The wins are all that’s left.
Orlando is a free agent destination.
That was a bold thing to say less than 24 hours before the best athletes in the world became free agents. They would have the opportunity to hand pick the city they would be playing in and the Magic would have money.
Of course, it was Phil Rollins that made that statement talking about Orlando. Every would-be free agent in soccer seems to want to be in Orlando to play for the Lions. They got Kaka, a former Ballon D’or winner for international player of the year. Shortly after their first MLS game, Orlando City was connected to Mario Balotelli and just about any major international start thinking about joining MLS.
The latest rumor is Mexican star Chicharito is interested in joining Orlando.
It is nice to feel that someone wants this city.
On the first day of free agency, the Magic put in a four-year, $80 million contract offer on Paul Millsap. It was a bold step for a team that has lingered at the bottom of the standings for three years and a sign they were ready to get serious about winning in 2016.
Of course, Millsap opted to stay in Atlanta. He received a competitive offer and the pull of being on a 60-win Eastern Conference finalist was too hard to pass up. No one could begrudge him that.
At least, he considered Orlando.
Orlando, it would seem does have pull. At least when the Magic go after someone. Right now it might just be the team and its lack of tangible success and progress holding them back in the free agent hunt.
To be sure though, Orlando the city is not the problem.
Tuesday morning at Amway Center, SportsManias gathered together the power players of Orlando sports — both professional and amateur — to discuss all the changes that have occurred in the city’s sports landscape.
They spoke about how the city’s venues and sports district has and is being transformed. How the city nearly lost its only major professional sports franchise nearly 15 years ago. How political leaders and the teams themselves energized the sports landscape in the city of Orlando.
It is really quite an amazing transformation when you think about. The sports culture has grown because of the facilities and everything else. The town has matured. As Alex Martins noted on the panel, the first generation of Magic fans are coming of age and are now established not only as lifelong fans, but now as season ticketholders. The transplant nature of the city is beginning to die off after being sort of the bedrock of the ticket base in the early years of the franchise.
Martins reported that despite the Magic’s struggles on the court, the team had one of its best years in terms of selling corporate sponsorships. The business oft he Magic is very healthy.
Orlando and the Central Florida area is among the fastest growing communities and metropolitan areas in the country. As Jeff Kunerth of the Orlando Sentinel wrote back in March in a review of U.S. Census data, Orlando is the 16th fastest growing metropolitan area in the country. And it is increasingly an international populace too.
There are people coming to Orlando. And that means some very good things for the sports industry within Orlando. Orlando City itself is evidence of that.
The Magic have not reaped those benefits yet. It is not hard to say why.
By all accounts, Orlando is a fine city to live in. Tobias Harris, who re-signed with the Magic, always wanted to stay in Orlando by all accounts. He noted he was staying in the city he loved.
Adrian Griffin in talking to the media after Saturday’s game noted how Orlando is noted as a first-class organization throughout the league. And the city’s weather does not hurt after five years in Chicago.
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The Magic remain an attractive outfit. The city is growing and maturing. The fan base is ready to support the team and whoever plays for them wholeheartedly in ways the organization may not even have had in 2009 (the team is turning just 27 years old and so its first generation should be just coming of age now too, especially for those who stay in Orlando).
All that is left is for the Magic putting together the wins to attract the big-name free agents.
Orlando seemingly had every advantage in its discussions with Paul Millsap. The team offered the money and the years to make a more than competitive offer. The only thing they missed was the wins — 25 wins versus 60-plus. It was clear Millsap would return to Atlanta if the offer was competitive, which it turned out being.
The Magic are relying on their young core to make the organization attractive. It has become somewhat clear that Orlando can attract free agents as a place to live and a place to stay (minus inflated egos seeking large markets).
To get to the next step, the team needs to deliver a reason for free agents to believe the wins will come.