Women's sports in Orlando are seeing a boost in sponsorships interest; Let's talk solutions to boost housing supply

Welcome to Orlando Business Journal's weekly LinkedIn newsletter. I'm Digital Producer Steven Ryzewski, rounding up Orlando business news to keep you in the know when time is short.

Women's sports are having a moment — and it's bigger than just the rise in popularity of the WNBA and Caitlyn Clark, its star rookie. Here locally, the Orlando Pride and Orlando Valkyries — the market's professional soccer and volleyball teams, respectively — have seen a boost in interest from companies and other groups looking to tap into the growing popularity of women's sports.

OBJ's Ryan Lynch spoke with executives from both teams, as well as some of their new partners, about the momentum and its implications.

Get the full story here.

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Advance Central Florida: Let's talk housing supply solutions

Advance Central Florida is a new series that takes a look at ways to address the region's challenges. We started with transportation and, in this week's print edition, took a deep dive into hurdles and solutions for boosting housing supply to help offset the Orlando metro's home affordability crisis.

Check out the links to the stories below to see what work is being done to alleviate Central Florida's housing supply woes:

• ‘Time is money’: How slow construction approvals hurts housing supply — and 3 solutions for Central Florida
• Small developers are important for Orlando's housing market. Here are their challenges — and how to give them a boost.
• For affordable housing, land is biggest challenge — but is improving
• How region's big employers step up to face worker housing crunch
• How NIMBYs affect Orlando's housing issue, and how to find compromise
• These innovations make homebuilding better, faster and less expensive
• Orlando counties fund hundreds of affordable housing units
• Orlando governments change affordable housing policies
• The big advantage of tiny home ownership
• Local housing leaders join discussion on affordability solutions

Real estate news of the week

• Chuck Whittall talks development trends, what's next for his firm's big projects: The president and CEO of Orlando-based development powerhouse Unicorp National Developments sat down for the Florida Business Minds podcast to talk about Orlando Fashion Square, the Wyndham Orlando Resort site and more.
• Empty SoDo grocery store space previously home to Earth Fare gets new tenant
• Target is headed to Lake Nona. See where.
• Local real estate firm Atrium Management Co. lures veteran brokers, launches new division
• Lakeside Maitland mansion sells for record price

Orlando news bites

Don't miss these other top stories:

• Orlando International Airport project hits milestone: A major project improving connectivity at the region's transportation hub is full-steam ahead. Meanwhile, the airport just landed a new European destination.
• Charges dropped against prominent local businessman
• $17B Disney development deal closer to final. Here's what's next.
• Chase Bank gears up big Central Florida expansion
• Employees for local media company ink union deal

Restaurant news & notes

Check out the latest news on popular local places to eat and drink:

• Bento Group owners line up restaurants for Mills Market concept: A new market-style concept near downtown Orlando will feature a new eatery from restaurateurs Jimmy and Johnny Tung.
• Hamburger Mary's announces new location: Here's the latest on what's next for the popular restaurant moving out of downtown Orlando — and a data-driven look at how it's not alone in making that move.
• Fast-food chain Jack in the Box inks new Orlando deal
• Cash-strapped Tijuana Flats using this survival tactic amid bankruptcy

We've moved!

Why did the Orlando Business Journal move across the road? Here's what to know about our move into one of downtown Orlando's iconic buildings.

Nominations & Events

Things to put on your busy calendar:

• Nominate for the 2024 Veterans of Influence, recognizing military veterans who have made a significant achievement in their careers in the past year, have a strong record of innovation or outstanding performance in their work, and are involved in our community. Deadline: June 13.
• Nominate for the 2024 Most Influential Leaders, which will recognize outstanding Central Florida executives who use their cachet to better the region. Deadline: June 20.
• Nominate for the 2024 Inno Under 25, which will recognize the top founders, entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders under 25 in your local ecosystem. Deadline: June 21.

That's all for this week's top headlines, and thanks for supporting OBJ. This weekly round-up of Orlando business news was compiled by Steven Ryzewski , digital producer. Questions? Comments? Concerns? News tips? Send them to [email protected].