Pictured: Midfielder JP Jordan makes a play on the ball during a match against division rival St. Petersburg FC. Photo courtesy of Sarasota Paradise.

Building a brand is no easy task. It takes time, money and the gumption to even start in the first place. But that’s exactly what Marcus Walfridson has done with the Sarasota Paradise, one of the newest and most exciting teams to call Sarasota its home. The Paradise, who just capped off their second season with a South Florida Division title in the United Soccer League Two (USL2), are a pre-professional team owned and operated by Walfridson’s company Audigr Group Inc.

Walfridson’s hope for the Paradise, however, is that they will eventually move up into United Soccer League One (USL1), a Division-Three sanctioned professional league. In the ever evolving US Soccer pyramid, USL1 operates only one step below the highly lucrative USL Championship League, which on its own is considered just one step below Major League Soccer. Last month, the Paradise took a big step towards becoming a professional team when the Papanicholas family, of the construction and development firm Nicholas & Associates, purchased an interest in the team. Nicholas & Associates, who hold an office in Tampa Bay, were jersey sponsors for the Paradise during the 2024 season.

“The long term goal with this project will always be to have a professional team in Sarasota. One of the biggest challenges, especially for a team in Sarasota County, are the facilities. For a professional team to be financially viable in the long run, you need a good stadium solution,” says Walfridson. “They are a general contracting firm, meaning that they can do the designing and construction of a potential new facility. They have expertise when it comes to not only locating places that could be developed, but also in improving existing areas.”

For the Paradise, this is just one step in securing a spot in the USL1 and establishing themselves as Sarasota’s professional soccer team. For that to happen, the club needs to add more ownership partners–two to three in the next year–as well as a principal owner. For now, the club will continue to play in USL2, but if all goes according to plan, they’ll be a professional team with their own facilities in the near future. “When you’re building something that’s for the community, you want to have people on board,” says Walfridson. “You want to have more people to share it with because life's nothing if you don’t have people there to share it with.”

Pictured: Midfielder JP Jordan makes a play on the ball during a match against division rival St. Petersburg FC. Photo courtesy of Sarasota Paradise.

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