There will be a taxpayers funded stadium built even though taxpayers allegedly are not spending any money on the stadium-village.
There are architectural renders of a planned Port St. Lucie, Florida soccer stadium that will house a United Soccer League low-level franchise. The Port St. Lucie team will compete in the US League One beginning in 2027. The stadium will seat around 6,000 people and will open in 2028 but there is an if attached. City officials have to approve a site plan for the stadium construction before any work can begin. The soccer franchise ownership, Ebenezer Holdings, is hoping that the approval will happen before the end of September and shovels will be in the ground to start construction in November. Ebenezer Holdings officials claim the company will be responsible for paying for the venue’s construction. But dig a little deeper and there is a catch. Ebenezer Holdings is fronting the initial costs for the building but Ebenezer Holdings is going to get money back through a gadget called the Community Redevelopment Agency.
Ebenezer Holdings is going to collect taxes once the stadium and a surrounding village are erected but guess where the sales tax and other taxes are going? Into the pocket of Ebenezer Holdings not the Port St. Lucie general fund. The holding company is using the money to pay down the debt of whatever it builds and that is perfectly fine with the city’s mayor. Shannon Martin thinks that having a minor league soccer team will spur economic development in Port St. Lucie. “This is going to be the catalyst for all the amazing things to come under that master plan that we approved years ago. It truly is about more than sports. It’s an investment in our city’s future, in our economy, and in our identity as a community that dreams big and delivers on those dreams.” Minor League sports franchises don’t pay living wages.
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