Although Plant City is considered the home of VSI Tampa Bay FC PRO and three other affiliate United Soccer League teams, the future of professional soccer and VSI’s presence in the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World is unknown.
VisionPro Sports Institute, an international soccer business, secured a lease of Plant City Stadium in March, just a few weeks before the home opener of VSI’s inaugural USL PRO team. The team has held nine USL PRO matches at Plant City Stadium, along with home matches for three affiliate teams — PDL, W-League (women) and Super 20s.
The current $10,000 per month lease runs through August, with a possibility of extending through September. The stadium costs the city about $387,000 annually.
Plant City wasn’t in the original plans for VisionPro, but when plans with other sites fell through, the organization was left with little time to secure a facility to host USL PRO and affiliate franchise matches.
As detailed on vsi-stadium.com, the company hopes to construct a 20-plus playing field residential training academy in the Tampa Bay area, along with a world-class sports medicine facility and a 28,000-seat main stadium. Along with its current partnership/affiliation with the VSI West Florida Flames and VSI Pinellas Flames, VSI also operates a youth academy in Europe in Rio Maior, Portugal.
Since adding an operation in Tampa, VSI’s goal has been to establish itself as the premier soccer development entity in the United States, along with bringing a Major League Soccer franchise to the Tampa Bay area. MLS is the highest level of professional soccer in the U.S. and Canada. USL is the third tier, while the North American Soccer League is the second tier, similar to Major League Baseball’s AA and AAA leagues.
According to Director of Soccer Clay Roberts, a Plant City High School alumnus, Plant City Stadium and the adjacent Randy L. Larson Four-Plex does not fit into VSI’s four-phase development plan, but the company is keeping Plant City as an additional option for its overall vision of “youth to pro” development.
“There isn’t enough land available for the residential training academy, but the stadium and other options could potentially be used for international tournaments and matches in the future as well as a satellite facility,” Roberts said.
THE RIGHT SITE
Roberts said VSI has identified four to five properties in the Tampa Bay area to potentially house the residential academy and main stadium, along with other projects.
He would not elaborate on which properties were currently being considered.
“From what I’ve been told, we are on track with the scheduling plan we put forth from the beginning,” he said.
The VSI stadium website notes a completion date of the 28,000-seat main stadium in 2016, leaving VSI to find home venue options in the meantime after its lease expires with Plant City.
Plant City Stadium is currently looking for a long-term tenant or outright new owner. The Plant City Commission rejected April 22, a proposal from Big League Dreams Inc. The company, which specializes in creating smaller replicas of famous Major League ballparks and leasing them to the public, made the only proposal by the original 2 p.m. April 1, deadline. Big League Dreams has had interest in bringing one of its replica stadiums to Plant City for several years.
City Manager Greg Horwedel said the proposal lacked key information regarding potential costs and the benefits of the proposal to the city.
The proposal process was reopened May 29, with the new deadline set for 2 p.m. Friday, June 28.
Roberts said VSI had a proposal they planned to submit for the original RFQ but had a misunderstanding with the deadline. He said VSI is interested in submitting a proposal for the upcoming RFQ.
“We really won’t know who is interested or how many responses we will receive until the deadline arrives,” Horwedel said. “Most respondents keep their level of interest pretty close to the vest.”
City Commissioner Rick Lott is a soccer advocate and an assistant coach for the Plant City High School girls team, for which his daughter, Ericka, is a standout player. Lott believes VSI can grow a fan base in Plant City and that the franchise will be successful, whether it stays in Plant City or ends up playing in Tampa. Lott added he is looking forward to the upcoming proposals and that the commission will do what’s best for the city.
“Plant City is a sports town, whether you’re talking about soccer, baseball or football,” Lott said. “If you go up to any of the Plant City parks on the weekend, you’ll see all ages from small kids to adults playing soccer and the adult leagues bring out 2,000 to 3,000 fans, so soccer is definitely popular here.”
ESTABLISHING A FAN BASE
One factor that could come into play about VSI’s future in Plant City is the lack of support the VSI teams have received since March.
According to Roberts, the USL PRO matches attract 500 to 600 fans per game. Those numbers are drastically lower than those of the nearby USL franchise Orlando City, which is averaging more than 7,600 per game this season. Orlando City is more established, founded in 2010.
“It has been a little frustrating, but we realize that we are a new franchise that is trying to find our feet,” Roberts said. “We’re hoping to get more support from Plant City and the surrounding areas.”
The on-field product has been successful. VSI’s USL PRO team currently sits in fourth place and one point out of third in the 13-team league. The team has been most impressive at Plant City Stadium, compiling a 6-1-1 record including two wins over Antigua and Phoenix last weekend.
“Once people get out here and see us play, they will be impressed,” Roberts said. “We want this city to take pride in the team. Once they get out here, they will be fans, for sure.”
The first phase of VSI’s development plan was a temporary modular stadium (5,000 to 6,000 seats). VSI currently owns the modular stadium. After not securing a site to erect it prior to the USL PRO season, VSI planned to build part of it to add to the far sideline at Plant City Stadium, but with low attendance numbers, that hasn’t been necessary.diegoplage.com