Port St. Lucie officials announced they would welcome a professional soccer team and a 5.92-acre, 6,000-seat stadium to start operations by 2027.
The United Soccer League (USL) awarded the city its latest franchise, the Port St. Lucie Sports Club for both men’s and women’s teams, in the latest investment for the eastern City Center, the City Council announced in an Oct. 13 press conference.
Joint capital investments between two holding companies – collectively referred to as Ebenezer – and the city may total approximately “$80 million,” according to city Community Redevelopment Agency director Jennifer Davis.
The city first received the stadium plans from the St. Lucie County Economic Development Council as “Project Ebenezer” in late 2023, Davis added. The Port St. Lucie City Council and other local delegates disclosed no information of the project until they announced the press conference Oct. 12.
Ebenezer will supervise construction and maintenance of the stadium, city records show. They will also cover half of the stadium costs for up to $27.5 million.
Port St. Lucie, meanwhile, will fund their portion through tax-increment funding instead of the city General Fund. Agreements between the city and Ebenezer will last for an initial 50-year term with options to renew for another 25 years.
The United Soccer League oversees nearly 300 clubs across five leagues – four for men, one for women – throughout the U.S., according to the organization’s website. Port St. Lucie SC will compete in USL League 1 with other Florida teams in Fort Lauderdale, Naples and Sarasota.
City officials celebrated their acquisition amid the “unprecedented momentum” of the run-up to the World Cup championship in Miami next year, USL COO Daniel Holman said at the Oct. 13 conference.
The Ruby Room at the MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Event Center at the recently renamed Walton & One district welcomed nearly 400 to the conference that morning. The City Council announced the Walton franchise in front of the Board of County Commissioners, state delegates, and representatives of Treasure Coast sporting clubs.
“Not long ago, an opportunity like this might have passed us by,” Mayor Shannon Martin said. “When residents speak, we listen.”
“Let’s keep it moving. I’m excited,” said Commissioner Anthony Bonna Sr. “This is a huge day for the City of Port St. Lucie to look at where this city was and where it is today.” Bonna confirmed that a structure was set up to protect taxpayers.
“I don’t know if the east (side of the city) would have the opportunity if it weren’t for the growth of the west,” said Vice Mayor Jolien Caraballo.
“Soccer is experiencing unprecedented momentum in the U.S. right now, and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to bring the game to more communities across the country,” said Justin Papadakis, USL’s deputy CEO and chief real estate officer at USL.
Ebenezer spun off from Neutrón, a tech startup funded with a $300,000 seed investment in 2019, Spanish news outlet The Officer reported.
The press conference included Martin, Holman, Parks & Recreation assistant director Brad Keen, and Agostina Galimberti, an athlete/entrepreneur who co-founded Ebenezer alongside brothers Gustavo and Paulo Suárez.
The stadium itself has been touted as an opportunity to “transform” Walton & One for more robust event scheduling, said Keen, adding that usage could exist for “cultural events with plays, outdoor theater and things of that nature.”
For reference, Keen visited the One Spokane Stadium in Spokane, Wash., a 5,500-seat USL stadium completed in late 2023 “where the primary tenant is a soccer team,” Holman said. He added the Port St. Lucie stadium could similarly act as a “sport/entertainment hub” sought after in the eastern city.
As for the sport itself, the new team and stadium could build “integrated pathways from youth to pro” for men and women, said Holman.
That integration is an added prospect for people like Iain Sanderson, assistant director and one of several coaches of the Port St. Lucie-based Mako Soccer Club.
Sanderson, 50, lived for a decade in the city after he emigrated from Ipswich, England. Since his youth rooting for Ipswich Town Football Club, he continues sharing his love of soccer with his daughter.
“I know what the power of growing up in a city with a soccer club is,” he said. “You can go to Orlando (or) Miami; there’s a Fort Lauderdale for the girls, but there’s nothing here in Port St. Lucie. And we’re all equidistant from those clubs.
“This would be a very good year for me to do it,” Sanderson said about the city’s building the stadium ahead of the World Cup. “Copious amounts of professional players are going to be here in Florida, and some of these kids are going to experience their first ever World Cup.”
Galimberti and Paulo Suárez are also connected to Vixon Connected Factory S.L. since its 2022 formation, according to The Officer. The Argentine firm advertised sports training technology through artificial intelligence and prototype body sensors.
“This club belongs to the city, to every family who wants opportunity for their children; to every person who dreams of wearing a professional jersey; to every person who believes in the future of Port St. Lucie,” Galimberti said.
“Project Ebenezer” derives its name from Ebenezer Cobb Morley, an Englishman commonly credited as the founder of Association Football in the 1860s that would later morph into FIFA.
The project has alternatively been called “Project DuBey” in memory of former Economic Development Council director Jennifer DuBey. She died Sept. 5, 2023, three days after sustaining injuries in a car accident, aged 47.
Support for the project is not unanimous, however.
“The City of Port St. Lucie is a community of young, growing families, yet our current leadership is prioritizing a $55-million (or up to $27.5 million in Tax Increment Funds) professional soccer stadium – a project we, the residents, overwhelmingly believe is ill-timed, fiscally misguided and dangerously located,” reads part of the Change.org petition that as of Monday morning had 1,556 verified signatures asking that the stadium be stopped.
“We are calling on Mayor Martin and the City Council to immediately halt the development of the professional soccer stadium at the Walton and One site and redirect those funds to address our city’s most critical, urgent needs: infrastructure and youth recreation.”
Their concerns include traffic which they believe U.S. 1 and Walton Road cannot handle, and misguided priorities by choosing pro teams over parks.
According to city officials, no taxpayer money from the city’s general fund will be used for the project. A construction bond to ensure construction completion must be posted, and the city is not guaranteeing payment of any developer debt, nor investing any “up-front capital” other than granting use of the land.
Regarding the petition, Scott Samples, PSL communications director, said, “We certainly respect the opinions of the petitioners.
However, we have also received a very positive response from both the local soccer community, as well as the business community about this opportunity.
“And much of what is being asked for in this petition will be a part of the longer-term vision for Walton & One, which can include restaurants, retail and a walkable, vibrant area where the community can come together – something our residents have sought for many years. The stadium is a first step and since the announcement on Monday, we have already received a number of inquiries from interested parties that can help us fulfill that vision,” Samples continued.
“We understand traffic is a concern. As part of our master plan for Walton and One, we looked at the overall impact of these uses. For the soccer stadium, the team owners must work with the Port St. Lucie Police Department to devise a traffic plan for game days. And, just as we would for any new development, traffic studies must be submitted for any project that will go into Walton and One complex,” Samples said.
Here’s what’s next for the stadium project:
• The CRA Board and City Council will review and vote on several agreements. They include the Development and Funding Agreement, Operating Agreement and Non-Relocation Agreement.
• There will be a public hearing about the project.
• The developer and the city will work to secure all necessary approvals with a goal of completing construction in time for the 2027 USL season.
While Fort Pierce Central High School Boys Varsity Soccer Coach Arthur Reuter does not believe the stadium will affect high school players already in the program, he hopes that having a professional team in the area will attract the younger players and get them involved in the game.
“Soccer here at FPC is more popular among the boys than the girls at the moment. I am hoping it will spur the growth of players but also increase the talent level of these players,” Reuter said. He’s also hoping that the new team and stadium will have events that will allow local schools to visit the stadium and perhaps watch training sessions. He’d also like to see them host training sessions for middle school or high school teams at the stadium or by coming to the local schools.