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It may have taken a number of years, but Osceola Heritage Park GM Robb Larson will get to watch the Osceola Magic G League team play in the Silver Spurs Arena, starting tonight at 7 p.m. PHOTO/KEN JACKSON -
Osceola Magic vs Texas Legends, Thursday, 7 p.m.; Magic vs. Memphis Hustle, Friday 7 p.m.
The Osceola Magic, the NBA G League development affiliate team of the Orlando Magic, play their first-ever game at the Silver Spurs tonight at 7 p.m. against the Texas Legends. They'll get back at it again Friday against the Memphis Hustle.
This landmark game could have been played six years ago – but the timing wasn’t right.
This year, the Orlando Magic relocated their minor-league team to Kissimmee from Lakeland, where it played six seasons. The Lakeland Magic came from Erie, Pa. (the Erie Bayhawks) in 2016, and at that time, the Spurs, along with a number of other arenas in the area, like ESPN’s Wide World of Sports and the Daytona Beach Ocean Center. In the end, it came down to the Spurs and the facility the organization chose, what’s now called the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
In 2016, a factor that worked against Kissimmee was the lack of a practice facility when the arena wasn’t available, Osceola Heritage Park General Manager Robb Larson said.
“That was one of the points of discussion (having a local practice facility). Now (the Magic) have built a place in downtown (Orlando), and we have other local opportunities like Johnson University (across Bill Beck Boulevard) and the Kissimmee Civic Center (minutes away).
Larson, a self-described “basketball junkie”, originally came to Florida to work with the Orlando Miracle of the WNBA 20 years ago, and worked with the Magic briefly after the women’s team relocated to the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut. He said the timing “wasn’t quite right” for everything to come into place to have the G League team come then–but 2023 was a much better time.
“I had a rapport with the team, but what really helped was Orlando City coming here in 2019,” he said, referencing the Major League Soccer franchise that trains on campus and has its Orlando City B developmental team play at Osceola County Stadium just a parking lot away. “This time around, the stars aligned, and it really was the right time. The puzzle fit together.
“The Magic are such a great organization, so it’s exciting to welcome them here. We already do business with the likes of Mecum (the annual car show) and Country Thunder (music festival), so it elevates what we do here.”
For the most part G League teams play within a short ride of their NBA affiliate teams. The drive from Lakeland to downtown Orlando on Interstate 4 — made at most any daylight hour is between a cover-the-brakes roll to a crawling nightmare — is often difficult. The ride from the Silver Spurs Arena–192 to the Turnpike might be the toughest part, then north to I-4 for a short stretch that isn’t bad now with the new Express Lanes–is rarely more than 30 minutes.
We don’t have an example yet, but the theory is that Orlando brass, and players, will often be in attendance at the Spurs to see the G-Leaguers play.
“We’re excited about the professionalism Robb has for us here,” said Steinbrenner, who was with the Magic when they won a G League title in 2021 and begins his 10th season in the league. He oversees the affiliate’s day-to-day operations while spearheading corporate sponsorships, community involvement and ticket sales — harnessing the $100 million economic impact sports does in Osceola County, according to the St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce. “We’re excited to expand the proximity (to Orlando).”
