Family with construction firm buys interest in Sarasota soccer team

A family that owns a national construction management company has purchased an interest in Sarasota Paradise, a men's pre-professional soccer team. The Papanicholas family will help with short- and long-term facility strategies and capital improvements for the team and community, according to a statement from Sarasota Paradise.

Nicholas & Associates — which the Papanicholas family owns — oversees athletic, educational, commercial, governmental and residential construction projects. Headquartered in Illinois with an office in Tampa, the company was a jersey sponsor for Sarasota Paradise during the 2024 season.

“We love sports and have executed dozens of large-scale athletics projects, so this was a natural fit for us,” President of Nicholas & Associates Nick Papanicholas Jr. says in the statement. He is a managing member of the new entity the family created to join the Sarasota Paradise ownership.