The city council in Port St. Lucie, Florida, is hosting a special meeting today to discuss community opposition to a proposed soccer stadium.
CBS12.com reports more than 1,500 people have signed an online petition seeking to block efforts by elected officials to bring a United Soccer League team to the city by building a new 6,000-seat stadium. The opponents to this effort insisted the city cannot handle a spike in traffic volume from the stadium, adding municipal funds would be better used on infrastructure repairs and social services.
“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,” said the petition.
City spokesperson Scott Samples said funding for this venue would come from tax increment financing, with the developer financing the project and then getting reimbursed through Community Redevelopment Agency revenue, thus avoiding the need for upfront taxpayer money. Samples added the stadium would bring in additional revenue to the city and encourage the creation of new restaurants, retail, and hotels.
Photo: Artist’s rendering of the proposed stadium
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