City leaders view the stadium as a revenue generator.
The city of Port St. Lucie, Florida is the latest municipality ready to throw money into a stadium-village as an economic generator. The city is putting up $27.5 million to help build a 6,000 seat venue for a United Soccer League League 1 franchise and a women’s franchise. The stadium is supposed to be ready for the 2027 season. Port St. Lucie political leaders claim that the money will not come from the city’s general budget, but claimed there would be an increase in property tax revenue from the development. However a stadium district could be established which would allow the stadium developers to keep all sales taxes generated in the district to pay down the debt of the construction. The city of Port St. Lucie will be able to use the facility 24 days a year. Port St. Lucie’s mayor Shannon Martin is pushing the economic development aspect of the project. “It will create over 200 new jobs, with many averaging salaries at 124% of the St. Lucie County average wage. The impact will be felt immediately through these new jobs, activity, and investments, and the benefits will last for years to come.” The average salary in St. Lucie County is about $57,000 annually.
The USL League 1 is a third level circuit in small markets or some teams in suburban bigger markets like New York or Charlotte. The league plans to set up shop in Fort Lauderdale and put a second team in the New York market in Paterson, New Jersey. The USL W League has 93 teams and is not sanctioned by the US Soccer Federation. Port St. Lucie is the spring training home of Major League Baseball’s New York Mets. The city will now help pay for a minor league soccer stadium hoping for an economic stimulus.
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Proposed Port St. Lucie soccer stadium
