WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – Future outings in Winter Garden could soon involve visits to a soccer stadium and a professional men’s team to match, so long as new partnerships stick around long enough for the infrastructure to get built.
The city in March approved a letter of intent to continue discussions about a 70-acre mixed-use development that would include an open-air soccer stadium with 5,000 seats, a hotel with convention amenities, commercial space, residential units, a senior-living club, a parking garage and around 10 acres of recreational fields and park areas.
If built, the development would reside along East Plant Street in a currently-vacant area.
Thursday, the United Soccer League announced its intent to partner with Central Florida Pro Soccer and bring a professional men’s soccer team to the region, according to a news release.
In March 2025, Federal Finance, the ownership group of Central Florida Pro Soccer, secured a letter of intent with the City of Winter Garden for a 72-acre site in East Winter Garden, with plans for a mixed-use development anchored by a multi-purpose stadium.
(…)
Central Florida Pro Soccer is founded by an international ownership team with strong local ties and deep experience in real estate development. The group is led by Federal Finance’s Tan Bahia and Austin Root, who also launched Federal Sports Alliance — a boutique sports and real estate management firm focused on creating Live-Work-Play ecosystems that add value not only to clubs, but to the communities around them.
USLSoccer.com Staff, 05/22/25 (excerpt)
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
“Given soccer’s incredible growth trajectory in the United States and The World Cup right around the corner, it’s time that Winter Garden – one of America’s top 10 cities to live in – joins the movement with its own professional team,” Bahia said in a statement. “With games broadcasted nationally and on streaming services, our club will help Winter Garden become known around the world as not only a great place to live but one with a world-class soccer club, too. Central Florida has a strong youth soccer culture, and we’re excited to join the USL ecosystem and provide a pathway for homegrown players to move up to the professional ranks.”
Besides a mention that Central Florida Pro Soccer plans to move forward with the development pending city approvals, no information was immediately available regarding a project timeline.
Copyright 2025 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.