ORLANDO, Fla. — City leaders in Orlando on Monday could sign off on a multi-million dollar deal to bring Electronic Arts to downtown's Creative Village.

  • If approved, city hopes EA will create economic growth
  • Construction of EA headquarters could begin this year; completion in 2021
  • City council will meet at 2 p.m. on Monday

The project would create a $62 million, 180,000 square-foot headquarters, near Concord Street and Ronald Blocker Avenue.

EA is currently the second-largest video gaming company in the Americas and Europe, best known for games like Madden NFL, NBA Live and Star Wars Battlefront.

Under the plan, the company will relocate its 700 employees from Maitland to downtown, with the potential to have a thousand people working for them by 2025.

Mayor Buddy Dyer said last week at the State of Downtown Address that the addition of EA with its high paying jobs, will spur more economic growth for the area.

"EA's presence here creates an immediate pipeline for our educational partners in and around the Creative Village," Mayor Dyer said. "Their presence here also serves as a magnet to attract companies and investments, into the Creative Village, accelerating our industry cluster in digital media."

EA is expected to generate more than 1,600 indirect jobs in the next 15 years.

Orlando's city council and community redevelopment agency on Monday will consider three items on the agenda to support the relocation of EA to Creative Village, including a tax rebate incentive worth $9 million.

Daryl Holt, vice president and general manager for EA Tiburon (Orlando), EA SPORTS Austin and EA SPORTS Madrid, had this to say.

“We’re excited to continue the long history of EA’s Tiburon studio in Central Florida.  Not only will it be an opportunity to build a state-of-the-art facility to help our teams do their best creative work, it will also be game-changing for the potential we can have in the downtown area and the community around us. It gives us the space to invest and grow in our teams in the Orlando area, and build upon the great relationships we have with the City of Orlando, the Orlando Economic Partnership, UCF, the Florida High-Tech Corridor Council and many others helping to elevate the importance of the interactive entertainment industry to our state’s future.  We look forward to this next chapter for EA in the city of Orlando, and the great work with can do with our community to continue inspiring the electronic artists of the future.”

The city council meets at 2 p.m., Monday at city hall.

If approved, then construction could begin within the year, with completion in 2021.