Paradise Coast Sports Complex welcomes new general manager

Paradise Coast Sports Complex, Collier County’s 175-acre multi-purpose facility near I-75 and Collier Boulevard, is under new direction.

Sports Facilities Companies, the management firm hired by the county to oversee PCSC, introduced new general manager John Sullivan at the monthly Tourism Development Council meeting held June 16.

Sullivan replaces Adrian Moses, who served as general manager at Paradise Coast Sports Complex since SFC took over the management of the facility in late 2021. Moses was promoted by SFC to a position as vice president of venue marketing.

“I’m excited to be part of the community and get to know everybody, and hopefully we can take Paradise Coast up to the next level,” Sullivan said to the nine-seat TDC board. “It’s a beautiful facility, so there’s not a whole lot of change that I anticipate in the day-to-day operations.

“But we’re going to be looking for new ways to bring more revenue and bring more people to the facility — different demographics and ages. Right now it’s a lot of sports, so there’s a lot of kids and younger people.”

Sullivan’s introduction at the TDC meeting was a cordial one, as TDC member and Naples City Councilman Bill Kramer welcomed Sullivan to Southwest Florida while also pointing out to the new general manager that Paradise Coast Sports Complex is far from its finished form.

“This complex, it’s about halfway done, by the way, to keep that in mind,” Kramer said. “And having been here since this was just a vision, a dream, and been involved in that whole thing — I really hope everybody encourages everybody they know to support the new (1-cent tourism) tax so we can finish this bad boy and really monetize it.”

“One hundred percent,” Sullivan quickly replied. “The sky’s the limit if we get this thing fixed.”

Collier County commissioners approved the inclusion for voters to decide on a one-cent increase to the Tourist Development Tax on the November 2026 general election ballot — a move that would raise the tax levied on short-term rentals of six months or fewer from 5% to 6%.

Commissioners want the tax hike to finish construction of the complex from its current nine rectangle-shaped fields to add an additional rectangle field, 16 baseball/softball diamonds and an indoor field house, along with funding other tourist-related infrastructure.

Sullivan, who noted to the TDC board his 10 years of consulting work with Live Nation in Chicago as part of his background, reiterated his desire to deliver varied community events such as food and music festivals to the multi-use complex.

Michael Lieberman, PCSC’s assistant general manager who served as interim GM before Sullivan’s hire, advised the TDC board that the complex’s most recent quarter was a busy one that involved events including the Weston Cup soccer tournament, Trilogy Lacrosse camps and the second season of FC Naples soccer competition.

“Trilogy is a series of week-long spring break camps for high school lacrosse teams. And this year was our largest month with them this past March, as we had 16 teams come in from schools all over the country,” Lieberman said. “They come down here, these mostly cold-weather schools, and they enjoy the opportunity to use the fields, warm up for the lacrosse season and surely get a little sun and surf and enjoy what Naples has to offer.”

Lieberman said that PCSC served nearly 10,000 meals as part of the 2026 Trilogy Lacrosse contract — a partnership that has grown into one of the complex’s largest returning clients.

Lieberman also pointed out that the most recent quarter included RV shows at the complex, as well as a major music festival and smaller concert series events.

All that activity, combined with a brisk schedule of local-use rentals, plus revenue from The Cove food and drink facility and The Factory outdoor workout facility, meant PCSC brought in $1.3 million in gross revenue from January through March.

“While we never want to rest on our laurels and we’re always looking for growth and for new opportunities, every once in a while, we do look in the rear-view mirror and realize how far we’ve come,” Lieberman said. “Plus, we are focusing on our food and beverage quality — elevating that from where it was, which was good, to making it more memorable.”

Lieberman also updated the TDC board on efforts to both increase and make more visible signage to the sports complex — both off Collier Boulevard and after visitors turn off the main roadway.

“If you know where you’re going, then you know where you’re going. But when you’re a brand-new visitor or you don’t visit the complex quite as often, you depend a little bit more on Google Maps to get you to the main building — and that’s great if that’s where you're going,” Lieberman said. “But if you’re coming to an FC Naples game, Country Jam or something like that, we need to make sure that we have better directions. We’re currently still working on that. We’re going to get that done.”