Orlando tried for a NFL franchise in 1996 after Malcolm Glazer bought the Bucs. He said the team needed a new stadium or it would have to move. Real estate tycoon Norton Herrick held the rights to build a ballpark in Orlando. He said he’d give them up for part ownership in the Bucs. Glazer had no interest in that, and it became a moot point when Hillsborough County voters approved a sales-tax increase to build what would become Raymond James Stadium.

Baseball? Among the flirtations, Orlando wanted a spot in the expansion picture of 1995. But no ownership group ever solidified while Tampa Bay and Phoenix plowed ahead. As for hockey, the first problem was the arena, which would have needed to be retrofitted to NHL specifications. Universal officials talked about acquiring an NHL team in 1994, but that never went anywhere.

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