SARASOTA, Fla. — Sarasota Paradise, a USL League Two team based in Sarasota, recently announced that the family who owns Nicholas & Associates has purchased an interest in the team.
Nicholas & Associates was a jersey sponsor for the 2024 season. With the purchased interest in the team, the Papanicholas family will provide extensive knowledge and resources to design and develop short-term and long-term facility strategies and capital improvements that will benefit the team and community.
“We love sports and have executed dozens of large-scale athletics projects, so this was a natural fit for us,” said Nick Papanicholas, Jr., president of Nicholas and Associates and managing member of the new entity the family created to join the Sarasota Paradise ownership. “Marcus has done a great job and has the vision and skills to bring something very special to the greater Sarasota area. We’re excited to be part what he’s already accomplished and what’s to come.”
Launched in 2023, Sarasota Paradise is a men’s pre-professional soccer team that aims to bring high-level soccer to Sarasota and the surrounding community, with a commitment to nurturing local talent and providing a platform for aspiring players.
Owned and operated by Audigr Group Inc., a global sports and entertainment enterprise founded by Marcus Walfridson, Sarasota Paradise came to fruition when Walfridson, a devoted soccer entrepreneur from Sweden, fell in love with Sarasota and recognized the need for a local soccer team. Since then, the team has seen much success, including being named New Organization of the Year by the USL in 2023 and having its first player in the team’s history be drafted into the MLS.
“We are extremely grateful for this partnership with the Papanicholas family as it will help the team continue building a foundation as we develop our team for 2025,” said Walfridson. “We started at the pre-professional level so that we could educate the community about the game, as well as bring unity, and we’re excited to see how Sarasota Paradise will transform over the next few years.”
This season, for the first time in the team’s history, Sarasota Paradise was named division champions and attended playoffs in Asheville, North Carolina, a remarkable achievement for the team, organization and the City of Sarasota.
