Port St. Lucie City Council voted unanimously Oct. 20 to approve first reading of ordinance 25-67, which authorizes the mayor or her designee to execute a stadium operating agreement with the City of Port St. Lucie Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and Ebenezer Stadium Operations LLC for a 6,000-seat multiuse stadium on a portion of the Walton and U.S. 1 redevelopment site.

The agreement, presented at a special meeting, says the private developer will fund construction and must provide a $500,000 deposit within three days of executing the development and funding agreement, a 30-day inspection period, and a 365-day permit approval period. The developer is required to post a performance bond equal to 120 percent of the estimated total project cost; if construction is started but not finished, the city may call the bond to complete the stadium.

City staff and council members emphasized the project is privately financed. "The developer is fully responsible for funding the project," a city staff member said during the presentation. Council members also noted that CRA tax-increment financing (TIF) — not the city's general fund — is the only mechanism identified in the agreement for any future reimbursement to the developer.

Key financial and timing provisions in the operating and development agreements include an eligibility for TIF reimbursement of up to $27,500,000 over a 20-year period beginning the year after the stadium's certificate of occupancy, with an example annual reimbursement shown at about $1,375,000. The agreement conditions reimbursement on performance: if the developer never builds the stadium or never obtains a certificate of occupancy, no CRA reimbursement is payable. Council members and staff stressed reimbursement is subject to annual council budget approval and that CRA TIF revenues must be reinvested within the CRA area.

The stadium operating agreement sets an initial operator term of 50 years with an option to renew for 25 additional years. The operator will pay all taxes and assessments, may be afforded a purchase option and a right of first refusal on the stadium land, and is prohibited from placing liens on the stadium or stadium land. The operator must establish and maintain a capital reserve fund, provide an independent facility assessment during the term, and maintain insurance and compliance with USL rules.

The city will receive 24 event days per year, and the city retains ticket and parking revenues for city events. The operator retains ticket, parking and concession revenues for stadium events; the operator also must donate a minimum of 150 tickets annually for team home games to up to five charitable organizations in St. Lucie County and will provide the city with suite access and a small allocation of tickets each year.

Traffic, security and public-safety responsibilities are addressed in the agreements: the operator must develop and implement a traffic management plan and a security plan for stadium events, coordinate with the Port St. Lucie Police Department and reimburse the police department for costs associated with those plans. Staff said additional traffic analysis will be required in the development review process and that the city is coordinating real-time traffic and public-safety operations planning.

City staff described a timeline that aims for the stadium component to open for the 2027 USL season, which begins in the spring; staff said the project may be phased so the stadium opens while other site elements continue under construction. Initial cost estimates discussed earlier in council materials placed the stadium near $50,000,000; presenters said that figure has been reported more recently as about $80,000,000 but that the city's reimbursement obligations are capped in the agreements and did not rise proportionately with later reported cost increases.

Public speakers registered concerns about traffic congestion, noise for nearby residents and institutional neighbors, the adequacy of parking and event staging, the site's size relative to traditional stadium footprints, and transparency. Several speakers cited a petition they said contained more than 1,500 signatures seeking to pause or table the project. Peter Overholtz, a public commenter, said "There are over 1,500 petitions already signed to table this." Other callers asked whether alternative locations or an indoor facility had been considered.

Council members responded to public concerns on several fronts. Councilwoman Morgan cited Florida law allowing confidential economic development review and said the council and staff had been evaluating the project under that process. "Under chapter 288.075 in the Florida Statutes," Morgan said, "it allows for us to review projects such as these under, like, an economic development umbrella, during a time period so that we can evaluate the project without it becoming public." Councilman Pickett called the operating agreement "the most comprehensive contract that I've ever seen the city enter into," and several members said the agreement included protections intended to prevent the city from incurring general-fund debt or obligations tied to developer financing.

The ordinance passed on first reading by voice vote with unanimous support from the five council members present. The council scheduled the second reading and public hearing for Nov. 4 at 5:00 p.m., when members of the public will have another opportunity to comment before final action. Staff also said the CRA will consider related actions, including a non-relocation resolution and the development and funding agreement, at upcoming meetings.

The council and staff repeatedly emphasized the following limits on city financial exposure: the developer must fund construction; CRA reimbursements are payable only after the developer achieves performance milestones and a certificate of occupancy; reimbursements are drawn from CRA TIF revenue and not the city's general fund; and council must approve any annual payments during its budget process.

Next steps identified by staff include additional traffic and infrastructure analysis during the development review process, continued coordination with police and public-works staff on event plans, and public hearings on Nov. 4 for second readings of the operating and development agreements.

(Reporting note: direct attributions to council members and public commenters are taken from the Oct. 20, 2025 Port St. Lucie special city council meeting transcript.)