PORT ST. LUCIE — The City Council on Oct. 20 approved an operating agreement with the United Soccer League to build and manage a 6,000-seat soccer stadium at the Walton & One complex — formerly City Center at U.S. 1 and Walton Road — despite traffic and noise concerns raised by nearby residents.

The agreement sets the stage for a new professional soccer franchise, the Port St. Lucie Sports Club, and represents a major step in the city’s ongoing effort to redevelop the long-struggling 49-acre site.

Vision for Walton & One

At the start of the special meeting, Community Redevelopment Director Jennifer Davis played a clip from the city’s PSL on the Mic podcast, where she discussed the stadium proposal with host Maureen Kenyon. Davis explained how the city acquired the failed City Center parcels out of receivership and began crafting the Walton & One Master Plan when USL approached with its idea for a new team.

“We paused for a moment and saw that if we carved out six acres for a stadium, what would that look like for the rest of the site?” Davis said. “We went through a lot of analysis — market and infrastructure studies — and what that means for the east side of Port St. Lucie. A stadium like this is much larger than a typical high school sports stadium. If you go out to the site, the four corners are already marked.”

Davis said the stadium proposal has already attracted other developers’ attention. “I’ve had three developers call me with a lot of interest,” she said. The first step, she added, will be a request for proposals for a hotel site to support both the stadium and the nearby MIDFLORIDA Event Center.

The master plan

During her presentation, Davis outlined the broader plan for Walton & One: up to 1,900 residential units, 175,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, and more than 105,000 square feet of offices.

“Initially, they recommended one hotel,” she said, “but as we looked into feasibility for the event center and other uses, they identified two. The stadium site, known as Block 7, had originally been planned for 465 residential units and about 20,000 square feet of mixed use.”

She reminded residents that community redevelopment areas (CRAs) exist to combat blight or promote targeted economic growth. The stadium, she said, aligns with those goals.

Key terms of the agreement

The operating agreement involves three parties: the City of Port St. Lucie, the Community Redevelopment Agency, and Ebenezer Stadium Construction LLC.

Under the terms:

The developer will build the 6,000-seat, multi-use stadium with room for expansion.

It will host soccer and other field sports, concerts, festivals, and community events.

A $500,000 deposit must be paid within three days of the agreement’s execution.

The developer will have 30 days for inspection and 365 days for permit approval.

The developer funds the full construction cost up front and must provide a performance bond worth 120% of the project’s total cost.

1Vice-Mayor Jolien Caraballo explained that the project will be financed through tax increment funding — meaning it relies on future property tax revenue growth within the CRA, not general tax dollars.

1“It really is keeping the money exactly where it comes from,” she said, “instead of putting it out west or somewhere that may not need it.”

After completion, expected around 2027, the CRA will reimburse the developer for a portion of construction and infrastructure costs, capped at $27.5 million and subject to annual City Council approval. Ebenezer Stadium Construction will lease the site for 50 years, with options to renew or buy the property. If it declines, ownership reverts to the city.

Protecting the city’s interests

Mayor Shannon Martin emphasized that the stadium sits within a long-established CRA and that the city has built strong safeguards into the deal.

“This is not the approval of the license agreement — that already happened Oct. 13,” she said. “We’ll have the second reading, which is the public hearing of this operating agreement and the license agreement, on Nov. 4.”

Both Martin and Davis stressed that the deal avoids the financial pitfalls that doomed past ventures like Digital Domain and the Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute.

“We took a lot of scenarios into play,” Davis said. “If they don’t start construction, nothing happens. If they start and don’t finish, we can call the bond and complete the stadium.”

Mayor Martin underscored that the city would not be backing the project with taxpayer dollars.

“There is no covenant to budget and appropriate — which was used at that time for both failed projects,” she said. “This is not that at all.”

Residents raise concerns

Not everyone at the meeting was enthusiastic. Kirsten Bernard, speaking on behalf of more than 1,500 residents who signed a petition opposing the stadium, warned about increased noise and congestion.

“A lot of us live right there, and the noise and the traffic are going to be insane,” she said. “With the Fourth of July and all those other things, it’s already really busy. Bringing in more is going to be even crazier.”

City staff responded with assurances. Public Works Director Cole Schwerdt noted that the property’s infrastructure was originally designed to handle high density.

“This property’s already been entitled for a certain amount of density,” he said. “A lot of those improvements were put in place many years ago.” Schwerdt said he has been coordinating closely with Police Chief Leo Niemczyk on safety and traffic control plans.

Niemczyk said his department already manages large crowds at the site during major events like holiday festivals.

“We’ve gotten to the point where we can get all of the participants out of that property in about 40 minutes after an event,” he said. “Currently, the site isn’t designed for quick exits, but I’m confident we can do better than 40 minutes once it is.”

Next steps

After further discussion, the Council voted unanimously to approve the agreement on first reading. The second reading and public hearing are scheduled for Nov. 4.

If finalized, construction could begin in 2026, with the stadium opening the following year — marking a major milestone in Port St. Lucie’s long-awaited transformation of City Center into the Walton & One destination district.