sler added that the rumours are "completely false"

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Orlando City Soccer has become Major League Soccers next expansion franchise. MLS commissioner Don Garber announced the franchise agreement with Orlando City on Tuesday at a community celebration near the site where a new downtown stadium will be constructed. Cheers, chants and dancing created a carnival-like atmosphere inside a venue in the heart of Orlandos downtown for the official announcement. It had been in the works since local officials approved a $20 million contribution last month to help the team build an $84 million, 18,000-seat stadium. Once construction is completed, the team will begin playing in MLS in the 2015 season. "Look, around you. Youre seeing history happening right now," Orlando City Soccer owner Flavio Augusto da Silva told a crowd of a few thousand purple-clad fans. "Youre all a part of it." Orlando City becomes MLS 21st franchise. It is the latest of four new franchises that Garber said in August that the league planned to add by 2020. New York is also getting a team in 2015. Garber said a final number is being worked out, but that he expects Orlando City to pay the same $70 million franchise expansion fee that recent previous MLS additions have paid. Both city and county officials previously approved the use of tourism taxes in recent months to help fund the construction costs for the new downtown soccer-specific stadium. That was the final hurdle the MLS said the city needed to clear to be awarded a team. The team was playing in the outdated Florida Citrus Bowl, which is configured primarily as a football venue with more than 60,000 seats. Tuesdays celebration was held at Cheyenne Saloon at Orlandos Church Street Station, which was also the location for the announcement of the citys other professional sports franchise -- the NBAs Orlando Magic -- in 1989. After relocating the team from Texas in 2011, Orlando City president Phil Rawlins made no secret that MLS expansion was the goal, predicting that it could happen within five years. But since its arrival, the team has developed a solid fan base playing the past three years as members of the minor league US Pro League, winning a pair of championships. Garber said capitalizing on that energy was a big key on expanding to Orlando now. "Orlando was ready," Garber said. "They were just aggressive with how quickly they wanted to come into the league. They were engaged with detailed negotiations with the city, the county and the state. All those pieces were coming together, and we wanted to ride that wave and capture the momentum." Rawlins said his prognostication in 2011 wasnt about wishful thinking, but more about belief in Orlando as a market. He echoed that sentiment on Tuesday. "When we moved here, people told me Orlando wasnt cool. They told me Orlando wasnt hip. Boy were they wrong," Rawlins said. Rawlins improved the teams financial standing significantly in February when he added da Silva, Brazilian native and businessman, as an investor and owner. Together they then ratcheted up his overtures to the city to work out public and private stadium partnership plan. That plan in the end calls for Orlando City to pay 50 per cent of the costs for construction of the new stadium, as well as for any cost overruns. The city and county will contribute a portion of its tourism taxes, and in turn own and operate the facility. The team will get all ticket revenue for its events and the city will retain money from events it holds there. As an expansion team, MLS also guarantees Orlando will host the leagues all-start game within five years. Kevin Byard Jersey . Louis Blues just continue to roll -- especially against the Nashville Predators. Steve McNair Youth Jersey . "I never commented to anyone that I wanted out," he explained. "My heart is with this group and making the playoffs." Kesler added that the rumours are "completely false" that he asked to be traded - recently or ever. http://www.titansstoreonline.com/Black-24-Derrick-Henry-Womens-Jersey/ . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings (3) - Early goal against was on the power play. Amani Hooker Youth Jersey . -- The Florida Gators are first yet again this season. Amani Hooker Titans Jersey . Cruz set the tone with a two-run homer in the first inning, and Baltimore scored eight times in the eighth to pull away for a 12-3 victory in Game 1. The major league leader with 40 homers during the regular season, Cruz added an RBI single to his early blast off Max Scherzer.FRANKFURT - Vitali Klitschko is leaving boxing to concentrate on Ukrainian politics and his role as an opposition leader, and that should give Canadian Bermane Stiverne a shot at becoming a world heavyweight champion. Klitschko vacated his WBC heavyweight title on Monday and said he doesnt expect to fight again as he pursues a presidential bid in his home country, where citizens have been protesting for weeks in Kyiv over President Viktor Yanukovychs decision to shun closer ties with the European Union and push his country toward Russia. The World Boxing Council proclaimed Klitschko a "Champion Emeritus," a move that would allow him to challenge the new champion directly should he wish to resume his career. "This offer makes it theoretically possible to return to the ring, which I cannot imagine at all happening as things stand now," Klitschko said in a statement. "I am now concentrating on the politics in Ukraine, I feel people need me there." Stiverne (23-1-1), a Haitian-born Montrealer based in Las Vegas, is the WBCs top-ranked contender and has been waiting for Klitschko to make a decision on his future. It is expected that Stiverne will face No. 2-ranked American Chris Arreola for the title. On April 27, Stiverne scored a convincing unanimous decision over Arreola in Ontario, Calif. to win the WBC Silver belt, an unofficial interim title. Stivernes Montreal-based manager Camille Estaphan hopes to meet with WBC officials Tuesday in Los Angeles to confirm a title bout between his fighter and Arreola, which he hopes will take place in March or April. Estaphan said Klitschkos retirement may also help Stiverne financially. "If we had fought Klitschko, the champion would get 70 per cent of the purse, while now, that will be in our favour," said Estaphan. "Were hoping theres a little present under the tree for us just before Christmas.dddddddddddd" Klitschko is a lawmaker and chairman of the opposition party Udar (Punch) and intends to run for president in 2015. Klitschko has taken an active part in the rallies, urging his countrymen to continue their fight to turn the ex-Soviet republic into a genuine Western democracy. "This is not a revolution. It is a peaceful protest that demands justice," Klitschko told The Associated Press in an interview earlier this month. "The people are not defending political interests. They are defending the idea of living in a civilized country." The 42-year-old Klitschko has a 45-2 record, with 41 KOs. His younger brother Wladimir holds the other significant heavyweight belts. "My brother Wladimir will be responsible for further sporting successes," the older Klitschko said Monday. Vitali has not fought since September 2012, when he made the 10th defence of his belt with a fourth-round stoppage of previously unbeaten Manuel Charr. "With the current extreme and delicate political situation in Ukraine, Vitali has answered his countrys call to fight for human rights and equality. Accordingly, Vitali will not be able to provide the WBC with a predictable time-frame to return to the ring," the WBC said. "In other words, under his new distinction (Champion Emeritus), Klitschko will, in essence, retire with the option of being able to return to the ring at any time and be eligible to fight for the title against the reigning belt holder." The WBC said it will soon determine the top two fighters to participate in an eliminator bout that will yield the successor to Klitschkos vacant title. ___ With files from Canadian Press reporter Marc Tougas in Montreal and AP writer Maria Danilova in Kyiv. ' ' '