TDC approves $10,000 for Winter Invitational soccer tournament hosted by Sporting Jacks

The Flagler County Tourist Development Council voted Oct. 15 to award a $10,000 discretionary event funding request to the organizer of the Winter Invitational soccer tournament, Sporting Jacks Soccer Academy (formerly Florida Elite/Florida Elite Soccer).

Amy Lukasic, speaking for TDC staff, described the event as a multi‑day soccer tournament that typically brings a high number of room nights. The full event lists about 250 teams overall, of which Palm Coast can accommodate approximately 75 teams because of field capacity limits. Lukasic said the organizer’s budget for the event is about $48,000 and the bid‑fee request to the council was $10,000 — the same level of funding the council has provided in prior years. She added tournament referee fees are a large expense, roughly $20,000, and the grant helps offset those costs.

Sylvia Santos, a Palm Coast resident and representative for the organizer, told the council Sporting Jacks is a partnership and pathway program with local competitive and recreational teams and that the host fields and lighting limit the number of Palm Coast teams the county can accept. Council members questioned whether additional fields or different dates could allow Palm Coast to host more teams and whether existing hotel inventory and other events (notably the Rolex 24) affect room availability. One hotel general manager said dates are a limiting factor for room blocks because of overlapping contracts.

Commissioner Eric Cooley moved to approve the $10,000 request; Councilwoman Teresa Pontieri seconded the motion. During the roll call, Lisa Robinson, general manager of the Hampton Inn & Suites of Palm Coast, announced an abstention. There were no recorded oppositions and the motion carried.

The council asked staff to collect contact information from the organizer to follow up on logistics, and several council members noted field availability and event timing as areas for longer‑term planning.