Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident urges Port St. Lucie council to pause stadium guarantee, cites fraud lawsuit
Summary
At the Oct. 27 meeting, resident Trent Ackleson said he represents 1,880 signatures and urged the council to pause a proposed stadium guarantee tied to ordinance 25‑67, saying he submitted documentation of an active fraud lawsuit and alleging league teams historically do not make profits.
A Port St. Lucie resident urged council members to postpone or reject a planned vote on a stadium guarantee, saying he had submitted documents alleging financial misconduct in the league being considered as a partner.
Trent Ackleson, who identified himself as representing 1,880 signatures, addressed the council during the public comment portion of the Oct. 27 meeting. He said he had provided documentation to the city clerk related to an active lawsuit, Future Legends LLC v USL Pro 2 LLC, and described sworn allegations in that lawsuit that the league concealed material facts about a developer’s financial condition. Ackleson said the most "devastating claim" in the suit is that no USL team has ever made a profit and that the city is being asked to guarantee $27,500,000 of taxpayer money for the venture.
"Vote no on the stadium deal on November 4," Ackleson said, asking the council to exercise what he described as its fiduciary duty to protect taxpayers. The transcript records his submission of documents to the clerk but does not show a substantive response from the council or staff on the allegation during this meeting.
The claim rests on documents Ackleson said were submitted to the clerk and on allegations in ongoing litigation. Council and staff did not address the merits of the lawsuit or provide a verification on the record during the Oct. 27 meeting. The transcript does not show the council taking any formal action on the stadium ordinance at this meeting; the public commenter gave Nov. 4 as the scheduled vote date for Ordinance 25‑67.
