PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — After months of discussion involving the city of Port St. Lucie and the Treasure Coast Spartans Youth Football League, the team has learned that Jessica Clinton Park will be their home for the upcoming season.
League President Ryan O'Neill said that for more than a year, he and his football league have been asking the city if they could utilize one of their football fields.
They told WPTV last month they were declined several times due to the high demand for the fields, putting the 2024 season in jeopardy.
NewsChannel 5 contacted the city to see why the team was turned away and received a statement from the city's parks and recreation team that read:
"With the growth in population, city fields and courts are in high demand, and because of limited availability, the City of Port St. Lucie Parks & Recreation Department may decline requests from new sports groups to reserve fields for games and practice sessions. Field requests submitted by non-recognized users are processed on a first-come, first-served basis up to 90 days in advance."
Two weeks later, O'Neill said the city emailed him with great news.
"After the story aired, we got an email from the parks and recs department asking to reopen the conversation regarding our upcoming season," O'Neill said. "We were pretty quickly granted some field space for the upcoming season."
"We were able to work with the league, understanding their needs," Brad Keen, assistant director of Port St. Lucie Parks and Recreation, said. "They needed five home game dates to have their 2024 football season. We were able to find a place for them at Jessica Clinton Community Park."
While the city has granted the Spartans a home for 2024, the league president said they still have concerns.
"We don't want to do this every year with the city," Oneill said. "We don't want to go through this conversation piece. We just want to get settled to where we don't have to worry about 2025 and 2026 as there is tempered excitement."
League organizers said they are profitable, charging a $200 registration fee that covers uniforms and travel.
Keen said it's his goal was never to allow the team to leave the city or shut down the season. He told WPTV the issue involved the city's growing population.
A recent study by Florida Atlantic University found that in 10 years, there is a projected 20% increase in population in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties. They are now focusing on expansion efforts with multipurpose parks to accommodate the growing population.
"Riverland Paseo Neighborhood Park is coming online probably in the summer of this year. We're also working with another developer partner, and they are partnering with us to build Tradition Region Park."
Parents can register their children for youth football by visiting the Treasure Coast Spartans Youth Football League website.