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The city of Orlando has quietly purchased more than $8 million of downtown real estate in recent months in the area mooted as a potential location for a new soccer-specific stadium, offering further proof of the central Florida community's strategic positioning for an MLS expansion bid.

Third-division side Orlando City SC have made no secret of their desire to someday join MLS, and the club seems to have found a willing partner in mayor Buddy Dyer, who hopes to help facilitate the development of a $110 million soccer stadium for the Lions. Some $30 million of that estimated amount would come from the club, and the rest would be provided by a mix of city, state and county funds and taxes.

READ: New investor in tow, Orlando City focus on stadium

Last week, Dyer received authorization from the city council to buy four parcels of property worth $4 million near the Amway Center, the downtown arena which is home to the NBA's Orlando Magic.

This week the Orlando Sentinel discovered, via a public-records request, that Dyer's administration had actually spent more than twice that amount overall, thanks to the acquisition of 17 more plots worth $4.3 million. Because none of those land parcels were worth more than $500,000 each, Dyer was not required to attain prior permission from the council for those purchases, but Mayor Dyer's deputy chief of staff Heather Fagan told the Sentinel that “the commissioners were briefed on potential options for future uses of the site.”

The land itself is described as “mostly vacant lots and warehouses,” in the words of the area's City Commissioner, and it adds up to an estimated three-quarters of two city blocks.

City officials refused to confirm that the land purchases are related to the stadium project, calling them only “a strategic acquisition.”

But it certainly looks like the ideal location and footprint for a downtown soccer venue.

Le championnat vient à peine de reprendre et les représentants de MLS sur la scène internationale n’ont pas le temps de chômer, puisque les quarts de finale aller de la Ligue des champions se jouent en ce milieu de semaine.

Tout a commencé hier à Houston, par une victoire 1-0 des Texans contre Santos Laguna (résumé vidéo). Alors qu’il avait été laissé sur le banc en début de match, Brad Davis a offert aux siens le but de la victoire à une minute de la fin. Une défaite par le plus petit écart qui n’émeut guère et n’inquiète pas plus que cela des Mexicains confiants de renverser la situation lors du match retour à Torréon.

Ce soir, Seattle sera au Mexique pour racheter sa défaite contre Montréal. La tâche ne sera pas simple pour un club qui n’a réussi à de qualifier qu’une fois sur sept lors des confrontations à élimination directe qu’il a disputées en Ligue des champions. D’autant que son adversaire, Tigres UANL, est invaincu en neuf matchs de championnat du Mexique, mais vient cependant de perdre son meilleur buteur. Coup d’envoi à 22h (HE).

Le LA Galaxy, troisième représentant de la MLS à ce stade de la compétition, affrontera demain les Costariciens du CS Herediano (20h, HE) sur leur terrain. Un déplacement que Marcelo Sarvas connaît bien et dont il se méfie particulièrement, puisqu’il a défendu les couleurs d’un club rival, Alajualense. Le Brésilien s’attend à voir un adversaire qui imposera la pression dès le coup d’envoi.

La quatrième rencontre, seule sans représentant de MLS, verra ce soir le tenant du titre Monterrey se déplacer à Xelajú (Guatemala), l’invité surprise de ces quarts de finale.

Suivre @CoupFrancMLS

As with most interviews, not everything makes it into print. That's why we've got this blog: to pass on all the fascinating tidbits that might get overlooked or swept under the rug.

With that in mind, here are some of Herculez Gomez's quotes that didn't make it into my preview of tonight's CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal (8 pm ET, Fox Soccer).

Remember, you can get your fill of CCL coverage right here at MLSsoccer.com.

On whether his teammates respect MLS...

“Let’s not mistake respect with fear. I think guys on our team respect MLS. They don’t fear MLS. Every time they play an MLS team, they definitely want to beat them and beat them bad – but not because they’re MLS. I think it has more to do with USA-Mexico and all that. But they know it’s growing. They know these players are getting better. Nobody likes to lose. At this level, we don’t play for fun. It is a job, you do get paid for this. But at the end of the day, it’s all about pride. It’s about what you want to leave behind. None of these players – the professionalism they have is off the charts – want to be known as second best.”

His reaction when told Sanots Laguna manager Pedro Caixinha favorably compared the Dynamo to a British side...

“I love that he says that and not something else. It shows the kind of respect that MLS is finding. He’s a smart guy. He’s been around the block and seen plenty of European football. And to compare MLS to European football – some might think maybe talk about the nature [of the game], the physicality – I think has a lot of merit to it. He talks about how quick paced, how exciting it is – two different styles of football kind of clashing. It will be fun for us. Fun for the fans hopefully.”

On MLS' stated goal of becoming one of the best league's in the world by 2022...

“Obviously, [MLS has] a long way to go to get to that 2022 projection. But you’ve got to start somewhere. I think they’re doing that. Today the soccer sense, the soccer IQ is definitely growing, tactically speaking.”

How MLS has improved since he left for Puebla in 2010...

“I think tactically the understanding is a lot better. You’re bringing in coaches who understand the American athlete and understand it’s a special kind of athlete. The American player is a player who will die for you. They’re willing to run through that wall for you. They just want to know why you want them to run through that wall.”

On the differences between the Dynamo's playing style and that of the majority of the teams in the Liga MX...

“It’s night and day. I think the Dynamo are a straight 4-4-2 team. Very forward, direct, physical. Set pieces are crucial for them. I don’t necessarily see them being such a possession team, but that doesn’t mean they don’t control the ball at times. It’s very different. The type of teams we play in Mexico, the majority are possession oriented. We’ve got definitely four or five teams that play direct. Very direct and very physical as well because that’s kind of what they have to do.”

The Seattle Sounders will try to accomplish the improbable over the course of the next week, going up against what is arguably the best team in North America in the form of Tigres UANL in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League.

However, their task may now get just a little bit easier. Reports out of Mexico Monday indicate that Tigres' leading scorer, prolific Argentine striker Emanuel Villa (above) will miss four to five weeks with an injury to his left calf, meaning he is guaranteed to miss both Tigres games vs. Seattle and would be a doubt for the semifinals (set for April 2-4 and 9-11), should Tigres advance.

Villa, a proven poacher who joined Tigres from Cruz Azul in the winter transfer window, is the Liga MX's top scorer in the Clausura 2013 tournament with eight goals in eight games (the injury kept him out of the ninth round of games this weekend). That total accounts for 42.1 percent of the 19 goals Tigres have scored in the tournament.

The Sounders will still have to find a way to shut down Argentine schemer Lucas Lobos, the string-puller for Tigres' attack, while Spanish veteran Luis García and promising youngster Alan Pulido can fill in ably for Villa, but the news should still be a boost to a still-coalescing Sounders backline.

For more CONCACAF Champions League information, be sure to check out our up-to-date CCL homepage, read our primer on the CCL quarterfinals and, of course catch Seattle's game at Tigres on Wednesday at 10 pm ET on Fox Soccer.