DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS, Fla. — The United Soccer League says they do not want to do a deal with the City of Fort Myers to revitalize the City of Palms Park.
In a letter to the City Manager obtained by Fox 4, the USL's lawyer said they are withdrawing their proposal. This has been in the works for more than a year. As of October 2024, the USL said it completed phase one of the stadium's assessment, including pre-construction evaluations and a cost estimate.
“It’s the course of business," said Fort Myers city councilmember Liston Bochette. "It’s just a shame it took this long to get to an answer. We have lots of options in front of us.”
Fox 4 community corespondent Stephen Pimpo talks with a member of the city council about what comes next for the City of Palms Park:
However, this debacle goes back even further.
The USL says in November 2023, the League proposed a "transformational stadium-anchored, mixed-use project" for the City of Palms Park stadium.
After more than a year of discussions, they said in the letter "a pathway to achieve a mutually agreeable framework for a stadium and surrounding entertainment district at the scale required for current USL expansion clubs is not achievable."
The letter went on to say "...the conditions to move forward are simply not in place."
Councilmember Bochette believes this is more about the local soccer fanbase.
“They’ve assessed that we’re not the size of soccer fans that they need to make it financially viable,” he said.
The USL said since November 2023, they announced their intent to launch a U.S. Soccer Division I men's league, which they say is raising the bar for what they seek to deliver.
"As a result, their projects now require even greater scale, investment, and partner alignment to succeed," the letter said.
The plan was to not only renovate the ballpark, but also Skatium. The development included housing, hospitality, office and retail space.
Councilmember Bochette said they are already in talks with other developers and Lee County to turn City of Palms Park into not just a refurbished stadium but a venue for concerts, rodeos and other large events.
“We’re also now engaging in discussions with private developers and there’s a number of them that have lined up but we couldn’t talk to them because the USL deal was on the table,” Councilmember Bochette said.
The city, for a second time, is back to square one.
Back in April 2024, the city told Pitch Prime, the first company to go through negotiations for the stadium, that they were moving on.
Some council members expressed disappointment with the plan from Pitch Prime, citing the money it would take to build it and other factors.
Based on a score sheet of proposed plans from Pitch Prime and the USL, the League came in second.
Mayor Kevin Anderson previously told Fox 4 that the score did not mean they were going to award them the contract, but rather start negotiating with Pitch Prime.
However, USL didn't see it that way and filed a lawsuit, trying to stop the city from awarding a contract. In the 100-page lawsuit, it claims the city's actions were improper and questions the validity of the selection process.
The lawsuit was dropped days before negotiations started with the USL.
Fox 4 is working to learn what's next for the stadium. Back in 2024, Anderson said it costs taxpayers $500,000 a year to keep up with the stadium's electricity and maintenance.
