How is Orlando's new arena coming along? What are some of the challenges facing Central Florida when it comes to sports-business pportunities? And what about those plans Disney has for ESPN at its Wide World of Sports Complex? 

 

Those are some of the topics that will be discussed when the Orlando Business Journal and the Central Florida Sports Commission bring together a panel of Central Florida sports leaders during The Business of Sports breakfast on Friday, February 19th. The event will take place at the Hilton Orlando on International Drive and is open to to business leaders and the general public. Officials from the Orlando Magic, UCF, Walt Disney World, Florida Citrus Sports and Fox Sports Florida/Sun Sports will field questions. We hope to see you there for this first-of-its kind event.

 Click here to learn more and to buy tickets.

 

 

February is a very busy sports month for our community, and it's highlighted by our own Super Bowl. They call next Sunday's Daytona 500 the "Super Bowl of Motorsports," and it caps three weeks of racing at Daytona International Speedway. Later this month, pitchers and catchers report to Kissimmee (Houston Astros) and Disney World (Atlanta Braves) for spring training. Speaking of the Mouse, pro soccer is coming to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on February 25 and 27. Four MLS teams will compete at the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic as part of ESPN The Weekend at Disney World.

 

The Sports Commission also has several events in the next few weeks, and we'll tell you about them below. Have a great February...and we hope you like our improved changes.  

Best Regards,

College basketball has March Madness. High school hoops may as well call this a "February Frenzy." District playoffs got underway this week. State champions will be crowned by the end of the month. Keep an eye on the girls team at Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando. The Lady Panthers are undefeated this season (26-0). It's been nine years since an area school rolled through the regular season unbeaten.

 

Coach Anthony Jones and the Lady Panthers are in Class 6A and looking for their first state championship since 1992. Good luck to Dr. Phillips and all our local high schools in the FHSAA playoffs.

Speaking of the FHSAA, Osceola County is ready to host the High School Competitive Cheerleading Championships for the first time this Friday and Saturday. The state's best squads will strut their stuff each day at the Silver Spurs Arena. Bishop Moore and Timber Creek High Schools both won state titles last year and are back to defend. The event is open to the public and tickets are $10 at the door.

The new semester on campus traditionally means one thing for the Sports Commission: golf. We will host seven college golf tournaments between now and May. Our first tee time is February 28-March 2 at RedTail Golf Club in Sorrento. The UCF Challenge will feature 18 women's teams from around the nation. Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Miami are among those in the field for the three-day tournament in Lake County. This is the fourth annual UCF Challenge, and the third consecutive year at RedTail. 

The nation's oldest college football all-star game, the East-West Shrine Game, was held in Orlando for the first time on January 23rd. More than 100 top NFL prospects from around the nation played at the Florida Citrus Bowl, marking the first time the game has ever been held in Florida in the event's 85-year existence. The East beat the West 13-10 thanks to a two-yard touchdown pass from Northwestern University's Mike Kafka to Penn State's Andrew Quarless with six seconds left in the game.

 

More than 200 scouts from all 32 NFL teams attended the week of practices in Orlando leading up the game. Last year 90% of the players in the Shrine Game were drafted or signed as NFL free agents. The game, which was broadcast live on ESPN2, will return to the Citrus Bowl next year, again benefiting Shriners Hospitals for Children.

For the third time in the last four years, some of the nation's top taekwondo athletes will punch and kick their way into Daytona Beach. The Sports Commission has been selected to host a 2010 USA Taekwondo national qualifying championship. The event is expected to attract nearly 1,000 athletes, spectators and officials when it is held May 22-23 at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

 

USA Taekwondo held a 2008 national qualifier and the 2007 Pan American Championships at the Daytona Beach Ocean Center. Osceola County hosted a national qualifier last May at the Silver Spurs Arena.