- February 18, 2026
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It was 15 minutes before the Sarasota Paradise players were going to face New York City FC II at Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch when some very important words rang out over the sound system.
"The merchandise is now on sale."
There wasn't going to be a stream of fans going into the Paradise gift shop during this first 2026 preseason game, but there were some, and this is a team that has been taking successful baby steps, which seem to have it pointed in the right direction.
By the time the 11 a.m. contest began Feb. 13, a few hundred fans collected on the side of the field nearest the players' benches, and yes, many of them were wearing Paradise gear.
They want to believe this team is going to make it. They want to be part of something special.
I would imagine there are many soccer fans in Lakewood Ranch and Sarasota who are considering whether to join them.
Manatee County would like those who are undecided to jump on the Paradise bandwagon as well.
It was in November, 2017 when I stood at the Premier Sports Campus stadium and watched as Bob Ritchie, the president and CEO of the Tampa-based American Integrity Insurance Group, announced his company had struck a three-year deal with Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, which owned Premier Sports Campus at the time.
The deal was for stadium naming rights, which was intriguing at the time because Premier Sports Campus Director Antonio Saviano seemed to be making some impressive headway with the United States Soccer Federation to bring both national- and international-level competition to Lakewood Ranch.
The U.S. Women's U17 national team actually opened the stadium Sept. 2, 2016 when it beat Venezuela 5-2. It seemed like it would be the first of many international matches.
Also exciting at that time, the naming rights package included an agreement to make American Integrity Insurance Group a sponsor of the youth Chargers soccer program in the area.
Everything seemed to be in place to build soccer's presence in the area.
But a month after that agreement, SMR sold the Premier Sports Campus to Manatee County, and soon afterward, Saviano was gone.
The county focused on hosting major youth tournaments and camps at Premier, and not so much the type of marquee games that would draw the general public's interest and fill the stadium.
It seemed that would continue to be direction, until Swedish entrepreneur Marcus Walfridson came into the picture. Walfridson founded the Sarasota Paradise in 2023 and set up a home base at Sarasota High School.
The team averaged 500 fans at the school, but Walfridson obviously had bigger dreams. He wanted to move the Paradise to the professional level, and he needed a better home base. He found the 3,500-seat Premier Sports Campus stadium.
In 2025 at the Premier Sports Campus stadium, the still amateur Paradise organization averaged 1,300 fans a game. Now the team has joined the professional USL 1 league (the third and lowest tier of USL pro soccer), and Walfridson obviously would like to do much better. He said 2025 was all about introducing his product to the area.
That was the idea behind the Feb. 13 game as well.
Sarasota's Travis Delzell and Laura Lanis settled into seats just before the match began.
"This is real exciting," Landis said. "I bought season tickets."
They must be big soccer fans.
"This is our first soccer game," Delzell said with a laugh. "We're trying to support local. We're going all in."
They want to be part of something special, and they decided to give the Paradise and Walfridson a shot.
"We are going to come, and we are going to be supportive," Landis said.
It is not going to be expensive to back the Paradise. Single ticket prices start at $13 apiece and go up to the basic VIP level at $63. There are several levels in-between. Those who want to check out ticket prices and the schedule can go to SarasotaParadise.us.
While Landis and Delzell were new, many in the crowd were familiar with the players and coaches, yelling out to them and waving. It was evident that Paradise players and coaches are very open to bonding with their fans, who all were admitted to the preseason game for free.
"This game will showcase some of what the game-day experience will be," Walfridson said. "It also provides much needed training for us to execute a top-level game experience starting March 7."
The Paradise players host AC Boise 7:30 p.m. March 7 at Premier in a game that will be televised by ESPN+. It will be the first of 19 regular-season games at Premier. Whether the announcers will be calling the area Lakewood Ranch or Sarasota remains to be seen.
East County's Ellen Nelson said she can't wait for the March 7 opener and she is glad to be sitting in Lakewood Ranch.
"I've been with them since the beginning," Nelson said of the Paradise. "I was a former baseball mother and I just started going to the games. I got excited. I don't know much about soccer, but I am going to learn."
Nelson said she expects the Paradise players to develop a following quickly. She said Walfridson does a great job keeping the players, coaches and executives involved with the community.
She wore a Sarasota Paradise scarf as she settled into her premium seat behind the players' bench. She has loved the transition to Premier Sports Campus.
"Sarasota High was nice," she said. "But this is so much better."
