Orlando City Releases Preseason Schedule: Two Matches Open to Public

Orlando City will play five preseason matches prior to the 2016 season, starting with a closed match at Eastern Florida State College on Sunday, Feb. 7. In fact, only two of Orlando’s five preseason games will be open to the public. The team released the remainder of its official 2016 preseason schedule today, which calls for all five exhibition games to take place in Florida, including a match against Brazilian side Esporte Clube Bahia at the Orlando Citrus Bowl on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. The Esporte Clube Bahia match is part of Orlando City’s season ticket package.

After the game at EFSC, the Lions will take on the NASL’s Jacksonville Armada at Community First Park in Jacksonville at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 13. On Wednesday, Feb. 17, Orlando City will take on the New York Red Bulls in a closed-door match at Championsgate.

Toronto FC will visit the Lions’ training facility at Sylvan Lake Park on Sunday, Feb. 21 in the club’s final closed preseason match.

"We're looking forward to playing some really competitive matches here in Central Florida as we begin gearing up for the 2016 season," said Head Coach Adrian Heath in a club release. "Not only do we want quality training sessions during preseason, but we also want to provide real game-like scenarios for the players to continue to build on our progress at the end of last season."

In their inaugural season, the Lions played three tune-up matches — against the Houston Dynamo, New York City FC and the Charleston Battery — in the Carolina Challenge Cup in Charleston. Orlando City also played in friendlies against D.C. United (at IMG Academy), a group of younger FC Dallas players (at Championsgate), and Swedish side BK Häcken (at the team’s training facility at Sylvan Lake Park).

Here's the full preseason schedule (games in bold are open to the public):