Photo: Mark Thor - Orlando City SC
Ahead of the five-year anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting, Orlando City SC and the Orlando Pride have announced the Pride in Our City and Mission Rainbow initiatives. The Club’s two June matches and surrounding activitieswill honor and pay tribute to the victims and survivors of the June 12, 2016 tragedy, and also aim to celebrate Pride Month, as we recognize equal love in the City Beautiful and beyond.
Orlando Pride hosts NJ/NY Gotham FC at Exploria Stadium on Sunday, June 20, for the team’s Mission Rainbow match, with Orlando City hosting the San Jose Earthquakes two days later on Tuesday, June 22, for Pride in Our City. The Pride match is set for a 6 p.m. ET kickoff, while the Lions will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET. Both matches will be presented by the National Pulse Memorial & Museum, formerly known as the onePulse Foundation.
“The tragedy at Pulse was something that impacted so many close to us, our Club and our community. Five years ago, we were so proud to be able to play a part in bringing the City of Orlando together, to show how strong our neighbors are, and we are proud that we are still able to do that today,” Orlando City SC CEO Alex Leitão said. “Orlando City SC and the Orlando Pride are teams that celebrate and champion diversity every day of the year, but we are especially honored to be able to use our June games to not only celebrate Pride Month but to use our platforms to raise money and awareness for causes that are near and dear to the hearts of Orlando.”
“One of my most vivid memories in the immediate aftermath of the Pulse tragedy in 2016 was the visual of the Orlando City game. The stands were filled with cheering fans, waving pride flags and an incredible sense of love, hope and unity. Sport is a great unifier, and that soccer game truly brought Orlando together, and was such a bright light after one of the darkest moments in our community and across the world,” said Barbara Poma, CEO of the National Pulse Memorial & Museum. “Orlando City SC was one of the very first founding donors of onePULSE Foundation in 2017, and continues to be engaged in and supportive of our mission to create a memorial that opens hearts, a museum that opens minds, educational programs that open eyes, and legacy scholarships that open doors. Five years after the tragic shooting, Orlando City continues to be a leader who consistently elevates diversity and inclusion in everything they do. We are so proud of our partnership with them and look forward to being a beneficiary of the Pride games on June 20 and June 22.”
Orlando City & Orlando Pride Match Tickets:
A two-match ticket plan to both matches is available, with a portion of proceeds from purchases going to the National Pulse Memorial & Museum. Single-game tickets are available at OrlandoCitySC.com and Orlando-Pride.com, or by calling (855) ORL-CITY.
Jersey Tributes:
In support of these initiatives, both teams will wear specialty matchday items. Each team’s captain for the match will wear a rainbow armband, with both the Pride’s Ad Astraand City’s Thick N Thin kit featuring rainbow numbers. Additionally, the Lions will sport adidas’ “Love Unites” rainbow tops for warm-up and a specialty jersey patch located in the center of the chest on the Thick N Thin kit.
Auction Items:
Through the activations and tributes across the Club’s two home matches in June, the Orlando City Foundation will be auctioning a number of items to raise money for local organizations and events. Proceeds from these auctions will go back to supporting the Foundation’s diversity and LBGTQ+ related-initiatives as well as the Pride’s recently announced Mission Fund.
These items include:
- Orlando City Match Worn & Autographed Jerseys with Specialty Patch
- Orlando City Match Worn Captain’s Armband
- Orlando Pride Match Worn & Autographed Jerseys with Rainbow Numbers
- Orlando Pride Match Worn Captain’s Armband
- One-of-a-Kind, team-signedAd Astrakit with Space-Traveled Mission Rainbow Patch
- June 22 Game Day Poster Original Artwork
#OrlandoUnited Seat Donation:
To commemorate the five-year anniversary, the Club will be donating six seats from Exploria Stadium’s #OrlandoUnited section to the National Pulse Memorial & Museum’s permanent collection. The museum will receive one seat of each color, with the six original seats being replaced with new seats of the same color to maintain the Section 12 tribute. The 49 rainbow colored #OrlandoUnited seats were installed on January 4, 2017, prior to the stadium’s opening, as a fixed memorial to the victims of the Pulse shooting.
Rainbow Jerseys On Sale & Special-Edition Merchandise Items:
For the first time, fans will have the opportunity to customize their Orlando Pride kit using the rainbow numbers, which will be available for purchase through The Den at Exploria Stadium and on ShopOrlandoPride.com. The Club has also unveiled a Mission Rainbowmerchandise line that will be available for purchase in both locations.
Orlando City rainbow numbers will also be available for purchase/customization at The Den and CITYiD at Exploria Stadium, or via OCMobileShop.com. Both jerseys will go on sale at a date to be announced later.
A portion of the proceeds from all sales of City’s “Love Unites” pre-match tops, specialty merchandise items, the CITYiD Patch and City game day poster will be donated to the National Pulse Memorial & Museum.
Game Day Activations:
Both matches will feature game day activations in Exploria Stadium to honor and pay tribute to the 49 victims of the Pulse tragedy, including recognizing family members of the 49 and the Orlando Health staff that aided the victims on June 12, 2016.