Southwest Florida joined the United Soccer League on Saturday with the unveiling of a professional soccer club — USL Naples.
The USL announced on Jan. 17 that Naples would be awarded one of four expansion franchises for USL’s League One in 2025 creating a gateway for soccer development to southwest Florida.
“It is an absolute pleasure to host the city of Naples, here today. While we had some fears of turnout early in the week, this has absolutely surpassed our expectations,” USL Naples Chief Data Officer Mark Mildenberg said. “We expect to have close, if not more than, 1,000 people here for our first event, so we're excited.”
USL Naples will play their games at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex — a $150 million facility that Collier County taxpayers paid for. The facility has hosted many events since opening in 2019, but heretofore without a professional sports team.
The generic USL Naples brand was selected, officials said, to give Naples-area residents and local soccer fans a chance to contribute, down the road, to suggesting identity aspects of the team.
“We came out with this generic USL Naples brand because we didn't want to impose anything on the community,” USL Naples CEO Roberto Moreno said. “This is the people's team. It's not our team. I mean, if you're a sports fan, you know that fans live and die by the results of their team. We wanted to show that from day one. So we're going to listen to them about colors, emotions, crests, symbols, things they love in Naples, things they hate in Naples and we'll develop a brand around that.”
PCSC was the venue for Saturday's kick-off event, providing fans with a look inside the PCSC Stadium — the focal point of the complex. It has a seating capacity of 5,000, giving fans a clear view of the action.
Fans lined up outside prior to the 3 p.m. opening, eager to get a glimpse of where their new professional sports team would be playing. Fans entered the stadium and saw a multitude of activities, including miniature soccer pitches, inflatables and blow-up soccer.
Alongside those activities there were multiple areas where attendants could get sustenance, with food trucks at one end of the stadium and pop-up tents filled with refreshments throughout the pitch.
Throughout the event, fans had the opportunity to meet the USL ownership group. They encouraged fans to come out and see the action for themselves in 2025.
Fan Brooke Parker stated that she enjoyed the event and can't wait for what the facility has to offer for the future.
“I think it just brings more awareness to the community and gets a community more involved and engaged, especially for the young families that are here,” Parker said.
USL Naples has the goal of building this team around the community. Fans will be able to determine the team's different aspects by attending interactive listening sessions.
There will be team tryouts this summer with actual games beginning in March of 2025.
Fans can pay season ticket deposits for USL Naples’ inaugural season for $25 to be the first to see southwest Florida's newest professional sports team.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you. Jeffrey Hrunka is a student in the journalism program at Florida Gulf Coast University.