United Soccer League stadium, Space Coast team proposed near Melbourne airport
In a major economic development proposal, key founding figures of Orlando City SC plan to launch a Space Coast professional men's soccer club and build an 8,000-seat stadium near Melbourne Orlando International Airport.
The executive team hopes to field a United Soccer League franchise and complete construction in time to kick off an inaugural season in March 2028, said Tommy Bonner, a principal in the Space Coast Pro Soccer leadership group.
"This is going to be around for a lot longer than us. We are just the guardians of this," Bonner said.
The proposed USL stadium complex site is 54 acres of undeveloped airport-owned property. This wooded area lies off the south side of NASA Boulevard, east of Broadband Drive, west of Woody Burke Drive, and north of Hibiscus Boulevard - and it was formerly slated for Lakoona Beach, a Crystal Lagoon-anchored, resort-style destination that never materialized.
The soccer stadium proposal remains in the early stage. On June 10, the principals submitted paperwork at Melbourne City Hall seeking site plan approval and a conditional-use permit to allow outdoor recreation in a light-industrial zoning district. These applications are still taking shape, and the Melbourne City Council will vote on final decisions.
According to a five-page business plan on file at City Hall, the stadium may host up to 27 USL regular-season and playoff matches, U.S. Open Cup matches and preseason friendlies per year. Other uses include high school and college matches; rugby, lacrosse and track and field events; music concerts and festival-style events; and graduation ceremonies, charitable fundraisers and business expos.
The soccer-specific stadium would anchor a 55,000-square-foot mixed-use development: "Future phases are expected to include retail, restaurants, bars, medical service facilities, and other consumer-oriented amenities," the business plan said.
"This integrated and phased approach is intended to create a vibrant, year-round destination that enhances economic activity, supports local businesses, and complements the stadium's primary use while maintaining compatibility with surrounding land uses," the plan said.
The site plan depicts the 48-foot-tall stadium, 2,667 parking spaces and a group of 10 commercial buildings near NASA Boulevard.
Brevard 'absolutely perfect for a soccer franchise'
America's top-level Major League Soccer includes Inter Miami CF - with global superstar Lionel Messi - and Orlando City SC, which plays at the 24,453-seat Inter&Co Stadium in downtown Orlando.
The USL Championship league boasts three Florida clubs: Miami FC, Sporting Jax and the Tampa Bay Rowdies. USL League One, which ranks a notch lower, features FC Naples and Sarasota Paradise with Fort Lauderdale United FC and Port St. Lucie SC slated for future expansion.
Bonner said the Space Coast club plans to launch a pro women's team at a later date, and executives are scouting locations across Brevard for a training-headquarters facility.
His father, John Bonner, who co-founded Orlando City SC in 2010, and Adrian Heath, who coached Orlando City to two USL championships, are also leading the Space Coast Pro Soccer executive team.
"The demographic population of Brevard is, we think, absolutely perfect for a soccer franchise. What are we, 650,000 in terms of population? And growing," Tommy Bonner said.
He pointed out the Space Coast's corporate growth, including Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin pouring billions of dollars into the local economy. The soccer stadium site off the airport's south side is near Melbourne's Northrop Grumman, L3Harris, Collins Aerospace and Thales corporate campuses.
"From our point of view, the location's fantastic for all sorts of reasons. I think that, for a mixed-use development, that area's crying out for that. We've got thousands of employees of these huge corporations that have got few options," Bonner said.
"We can do really well providing somewhere for them to go, whether it be lunch, whether it be dinner, whether it be client meetings, etc. etc." he said.
Stadium site was previously slated for Lakoona Beach
Back in December 2022, the Melbourne City Council unanimously approved the sale of the 54-acre airport-owned property for $8.93 million to Adëlon Capital, a Hollywood development-investment firm.
Adëlon Capital introduced visions of developing Lakoona Beach, an aquatic resort complex anchored by a manmade Crystal Lagoon, retail and restaurants. The developer still has the property under contract, but Lakoona Beach never materialized.
In an email, Jonathan Cohen, Adëlon Capital founder and co-chairman, cited the long wait for Federal Aviation Administration land-sale approval and evolving market conditions in the demise of Lakoona Beach. When the soccer executives proposed their stadium venture, he said it was a better fit for the project and the city.
Now, closing of the land purchase needs to occur by a mid-September deadline, said Melissa Naughton, the airport's assistant director of business development and marketing.
"The Airport thinks it's a great project and we are hopeful it will generate more passenger traffic to our area," Naughton said of the soccer stadium in an email.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY, where he has covered news since 2004. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: United Soccer League stadium, Space Coast team proposed near Melbourne airport
Reporting by Rick Neale, Florida Today / Florida Today
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This story was originally published June 30, 2026 at 11:10 AM.