Orlando Dreamers Major League Baseball team | 5 things to know
Orlando Dreamers are an organized group trying to bring a Major League Baseball (MLB) team to Orlando, Fla., with a stadium near SeaWorld. Although a lot of work has been done, it’s not a home run yet. Here are five things you may not realize about it.
I attended the International Drive Resort Area Chamber of Commerce meeting on June 16, 2025, at the Hilton Orlando, just down the street from the proposed site of the baseball stadium. Speaking at the meeting were three members of the Orlando Dreamers Team: owner Dr. Rick Workman, DMD; COO Jim Schnorf; and former Baseball Hall-of-Famer Barry Larkin, the group’s MLB Ambassador. Co-owner John Morgan of Morgan and Morgan was supposed to be there, but couldn’t make it.
Here are five things they talked about that you may not know.
The Orlando Dreamers still need government support
Although the Orlando Dreamers have the financial backing, and the plans, there’s one thing they need to be able to tell MLB they have, and that’s government support for the team and the county-owned land where they want to put the stadium. The panel emphasized that the last missing piece for the Orlando Dreamers’ MLB bid is visible support from Orange County. Schnorf said, “It doesn’t have to be the absolute final details consummated. It’s visible public support from Orange County saying, ‘We want Major League Baseball here and we’re prepared to support it.’ It would be an all-powerful message to be able to tell Major League Baseball, yes, we have this final box checked, there is going to be an appropriate public private partnership.”
The Orlando Dreamers baseball stadium will be located next to Aquatica and enclosed
The stadium the Orlando Dreamers want to build is on the property to the left of SeaWorld’s Aquatica water park, and would be accessed from International Drive. They said they have done studies, and traffic won’t be a problem.
Not only would the stadium have a cover over it, but so will the areas leading up to the stadium entrance, ensuring Florida’s rainy afternoons won’t stop the games. “We won’t get rained out,” said Larkin. “Go down to Tampa in a couple months or a couple weeks and get an opportunity to watch the Rays play. Better bring your rain suit. Right?”
The stadium will be used for more than just baseball
Since an MLB baseball game would only be played at the stadium approximately 81 days of the year, the Orlando Dreamers have plans to use the stadium for events other than baseball. Not only would the 45,000-seat domed venue be potentially used for concerts, festivals, and other events, but they would offer the 6,700-space parking garage as overflow for the Orange County Convention Center.
Workman also mentioned the possibility of adding an attraction to the space. “We’ve already had conversations with the National Baseball Hall of Fame to have the second-largest baseball memorabilia museum right here in Orlando,” he said.
They have three chances to get a team
The Orlando Dreamers can’t just start a team; they need to buy one, or be offered a new one. MLB plans on adding two expansion teams, but haven’t announced where they will be. But with Florida already having two teams (the Tampa Bay Rays and the Miami Marlins), would the MLB offer a third team to the state? (Incidentally, the MLB wants one of the two future teams to be on the west coast.)
One of other ways the Orlando Dreamers group could get a team is to purchase the Tampa Bay Rays and bring them to Orlando, as the team has been struggling in Tampa. If that doesn’t happen, they could purchase another team.
Larkin noted, “Other Major League Baseball teams have stadium issues in their communities. If those aren’t resolved, they possibly could relocate to Orlando.”
Orlando Dreamers won’t be the name of the baseball team
If the Orlando Dreamers are successful at bringing a team to Orlando, the team won’t be called the Orlando Dreamers. That’s just the name of the organization trying to get a team. The Orlando Dreamers name is “a nod to Walt Disney and Arnold Palmer and the many other visionaries who helped develop this area into the special place it has become,” said Pat Williams, who has since passed away, but was part of the Orlando Dreamers’ start. Williams also brought the Magic basketball team to Orlando.
Photo by Matt Roseboom
If the Rays come to Orlando, the name could be the Orlando Rays. The same with any other team purchased, but ultimately, the name of the team is up to owner Workman. Larkin explained, “The Orlando Dreamers is the concept, is the initiative to bring Major League Baseball to Orlando. We are going to need to engage the fan base to come up with the appropriate name. … Orlando Dreamers is not going to be the name of the baseball team.”
What do you think about the Orlando Dreamers and the location of the stadium? Let us know in the comments below.
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no thanks, the traffic would be even more a nightmare in that area.
Florida Sharks or Florida Sting Rays.
I think the concept is awesome. Please publish anything us normal citizens can do to help. Thanks.
I have been a dedicated Rays fan since 2007. I live in Melbourne Beach which is a 3 hour drive to St Petersburg to see a game which has limited my going to games. I have always wished they were in Orlando for my benefit (1.5 hour drive) and that of the team. The Rays have always been at the bottom of the attendance numbers making in necessary to trade away better ballplayers. I believe being in Orlando would turn that around.
A far as the name Dreamers for a team, being a Baseball fan for over 70 Years the answer is NO WAY.