Tampa investment firm adds United Soccer League to growing sports portfolio

A Tampa private equity firm has closed on a minority investment in the United Soccer League, the sports organization announced Thursday morning. 

Weatherford Capital has joined BellTowers Partners’ strategic investment in the league, a partnership that brings “deep sports expertise, a broad national network and operational insight” to the USL’s multi-tier men’s and women’s soccer organization, the release says. New York-based BellTower Partners made its investment in September 2025. Financial terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

The Tampa Bay Rowdies, owned by the same ownership group as the Tampa Bay Rays, have played in the USL since 2017. The Tampa Bay Sun, the local women’s soccer team that launched in 2024, plays in USL’s Gainbridge Super League. 

“Weatherford Capital is an ideal partner for the USL,” USL CEO Alex Papadakis ays in the release. “They bring extensive experience across the sports landscape and a disciplined investment approach.”

It’s not the first time Weatherford Capital has invested in a sports organization. The firm also holds a minority stake in the Tampa Bay Rays and made investments in IMG Academy, a sports education institution in Bradenton; Curve Sports, a youth baseball program; and Collegiate Athletic Solutions, a fund for collegiate athletics sports programs that Weatherford Capital formed in 2024 with New York private equity firm RedBird Capital. 

Weatherford Capital, founded in 2015, is run by brothers Drew, Sam and Will Weatherford — all with a sports background: Will played football at Jacksonville University; Drew played quarterback for Florida State; and Sam played football for Fordham University in New York. The group now holds more than $1 billion in assets with offices in Tampa, Dallas and Chicago. (Will Weatherford is also chairman of the University of South Florida’s Board of Trustees and spent eight years as a Republican state representative, serving as Speaker of the House for two years.)

“As a Tampa-based firm, we've seen firsthand how professional sports can transform a community and create lasting economic value, ” Drew Weatherford says in the release. “Sports is completing its transition into a core institutional asset class, and soccer in the United States is one of the most compelling opportunities within that shift. The USL's scale, multi-tier structure, and national reach give it a differentiated long-term growth profile, and we look forward to supporting the league as it enters its defining era.”

The investment comes during a period of significant growth for the USL, which is among the largest and fastest-growing professional soccer organizations in North America. The league recently announced USL Premier as the official name of its new Division One men’s professional league, set to launch in 2028. The interconnected, three-tier system will introduce promotion and relegation for the first time in American soccer or any major U.S. professional sport.