USL Set to Bring Professional Men’s Soccer Team to Winter Garden

Winter Garden, Florida, is poised to welcome a new USL men’s professional soccer team as part of a sweeping mixed-use development announced Thursday. Central Florida Pro Soccer and the United Soccer League revealed plans to establish the club in a 72-acre site on the city’s eastern edge, pending city approval.

The development, led by Federal Finance, includes a 3,000 to 5,000-seat stadium, over 150,000 square feet of commercial space, multifamily housing, a 160-room hotel, parks, walking trails, and 14 acres of recreation areas — complete with practice soccer fields, baseball diamonds, pickleball, and padel courts.

“The stadium will be the centerpiece of a project that unites residents and inspires youth,” said Justin Papadakis, USL’s deputy CEO. While the team will likely compete in USL League One, the league’s 2027-28 plans to introduce a three-tier system with promotion and relegation could reshape its path.

This marks the USL’s return to the greater Orlando area, where Orlando City SC previously played before moving to Major League Soccer. Winter Garden’s emerging soccer scene now enters the national spotlight with ambitions to shape the next generation of American footballers.