After lengthy negotiations between Fort Myers and the United Soccer League (USL), the USL has announced that they are ending talks with the city after exploring a potential stadium redevelopment.
In a letter addressed to the city, the USL wrote that the conditions are not in place to move forward with a plan for a stadium and entertainment district . With the league's ambition to grow as a top tier soccer league in the U.S., expectations for the scope of the project in size and funding didn't match up.
The two sides had explored potentially redeveloping the City of Palms Park site in the Midtown region of Fort Myers. In the concept, there were plans to renovate the stadium and the Fort Myers Skatium. It also created a multiuse district with housing, office, retail, hospitality and restaurant uses, according to the letter.
Despite the ending of negotiations, the USL believes in Southwest Florida as a potential future market. Citing high soccer viewership in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers media market and the attendance and support of FC Naples in USL League One in their first season, the league is still optimistic about the future to grow in the region, according to the letter.
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