The Magic announced on Tuesday the move of its G-League team to Kissimmee, Osceola County, Florida. The team will now play their fixtures at the Silver Spurs Arena, located in Osceola Heritage Park.
“We are pleased to bring the Magic and the G-League to Osceola County, Kissimmee and Osceola Heritage Park” said Magic general manager Alex Martins. “We would like to thank Osceola County Chairperson Viviana Janer, County Executive Don Fisher and Osceola Heritage Park General Manager Robb Larson for helping us bring this project to fruition. We look forward to being an invested community partner in Kissimmee and Osceola County”.
But that’s not all, because who says new place, says new name. Completed the “Lakeland Magic”, the franchise changes its name and will now be called the “Osceola Magic”.
A change of location that will also allow the G-League team to get closer to the city of Orlando geographically, since the travel time between Kissimmee and Orlando is only about 30 minutes, when it was necessary to count 1h30 to get to Lakeland. A point that could have a positive impact on ticketing.
“We are thrilled to welcome Osceola Magic to our community and to Osceola Heritage Park” enjoy Robb Larsongeneral manager of the Osceola Heritage Park. “This partnership will not only bring exciting professional basketball games to Osceola County, but also provide opportunities for local businesses and tourism. We look forward to working closely with the team to create a memorable experience for fans and players.”.
Osceola Heritage Park was already in talks with the Magic to host the G-League side in 2017, when the franchise was looking to relocate the Erie BayHawks from Pennsylvania.
At the time, the choice finally fell on Lakeland, where the team played for six seasons, at the RP Funding Center. A period in which the team won the G-League title in 2020/21.
