October is LGBT History Month, so Orlando City Soccer Club and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are gearing up to celebrate pride with their LGBT fans.
Orlando City Soccer announced that it will be hosting its first LGBT Night on Oct. 3 at the Orlando Citrus Bowl against the Montreal Impact, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be hosting a LGBT Pride Day for their Oct. 4 game against the Carolina Panthers.
The Orlando City home game will fall at the beginning of the week when Come Out With Pride is celebrated.
“We are thrilled to offer a special LGBT-themed evening at our match on October 3rd,” said Orlando City founder and President Phil Rawlins in a press release. “We look forward to Pride Week every year and our organization has been a staunch supporter of this important event for the last few years.”
The Orlando City Soccer’s LGBT Night announcement comes just over a week after Equality Florida’s Gina Duncan posted a teaser photo on Facebook that showed a rainbow-colored Orlando City Soccer Club logo.
Orlando City also announced on they teamed up with Adidas to release a limited-edition rainbow merchandise line at the match. Decals, scarves, T-shirts, tank tops and other merchandise featuring a rainbow Orlando City logo will be for sale. They will also have a merchandise booth at Come Out With Pride Oct. 10. Orlando City is one of the sponsors of the event, and Orlando City players will also participate in this year’s parade.
MBA Secretary Michael Deeying is excited for Orlando City’s LGBT Night and how it will allow his LGBT friends and allies to unite and celebrate Pride.
“I think it’s really great to see a major league sports team in the United States support LGBT rights in general,” Deeying said. “A lot of teams don’t address the issue, but I really admire that Orlando City is taking the stance to show their support as an ally for the community.”
Last year, the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers joined forces with Tampa Pride to host the first LGBT Pride pre-game tailgate. This year, the NFL franchise is once again hosting its Tampa Bay Bucs GLBT Pride Day on Oct. 4 at the Raymond James Stadium for the Bucs home game against the Carolina Panthers.
“Our franchise has a history of supporting the principle that that everyone should be able to take pride and feel invested in their team,”Tampa Bay Buccaneers’Chief Operating Officer Brian Ford said in an email to Watermark.
The night was announced Sept. 8 when Tampa Pride released an infographic with a list of their 2016 Tampa Pride events. There were 19 events announced that will happen from September up until Tampa Pride in March, and the Bucs’ Pride Day was one of them.
“We are extremely excited to have a strong organizational presence at the LGBT event and look forward to building on last year’s success,”Ford said. “It will be yet another great opportunity for our fans from the entire Tampa Bay area, including the surrounding communities in Orlando and Sarasota to come together for some pre-game socializing and networking before what we know will be an exciting game against the Carolina Panthers.”
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers game kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. For more information on tickets to the Bucs Pride Day, contact Allie Lewis at 813-870-2700 ext. 2507. For every ticket purchased specifically for the Pride Day event, $5 will be donated to either Tampa Pride, St. Pete Pride, Metro Wellness and Community Centers, Orlando Pride, You Can Play or Equality Florida.
Kickoff for Orlando City Soccer’s LGBT Night game on Oct. 3 against the Montreal Impact is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Discount tickets for the LGBT Pride Night event are available at www.orlandocitysc.com/pridenite; enter the code “PRIDE” to view discount tickets and seating locations. For more information, contact Daniel Quesada at 407-480-4771.
