Building Paradise:
HUGE News

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One of the most important milestones in Sarasota Paradise club history happened this week. Our lease with Premier Sports Campus was approved by the Manatee County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday.

It was a nervous day for me. Prior to the meeting I received a text that said there was a risk the commissioners would pull our lease out of the consent agenda and bring it up as a separate issue.

When arriving at the county administration building I thankfully ran into some key people who told me what the potential issue was. One commissioner was concerned about our name being Sarasota. His fear was that we were all folks from a different county utilizing the facility.

First I explained to one of the higher ups that we're going to be a professional team giving the area weekly national tv coverage. Then I went on to say, as I've done throughout the lease negotiation process; we're not changing our name for a short term lease.

If we were asking for a 20 year lease, I could understand the concerns of the commissioner. Which is what I planned to say if the question arose...

However, it seems like that quick morning explanation in combination with just being present and seeing some familiar faces on the board did the trick. There was no objections and we got approved as part of the consent agenda.

Why is this an important milestone for our club?

• PSC is the only facility in the Sarasota-Bradenton metropolitan area that we can play professional soccer at.
• It currently has 3104 seats which will become minimum 3,500 when we add hospitality areas.
• You can't sign a pro league franchise agreement without having a stadium lease approved.

​See announcement video here.​

The date of 12/10 will go down into the Sarasota Paradise history books as an important one. Later this month we're looking to create more milestones that I'll address in January.

Since this email is more of a current events style writing, I'll return with some more philosophical musings about stadiums and the importance of them later on.

Now, let me get back to our first ever Sarasota Paradise capital raise - the topic for next time!

Be great.

MW
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About the author Marcus Walfridson is the founder of Sarasota Paradise Soccer Club, leading its transition to USL League One. A seasoned soccer coach and author of Lessons From The Beautiful Game. He champions individual liberty and personal accountability, striving for success both on and off the field.