Sarasota County's newest high school athletic program will take the field this month when the Wellen Park Soaring Eagles begin FHSAA competition, backed by a 6,000-seat football stadium and a 3,000-seat gymnasium that rival some college facilities. Superintendent Terry Connor said at the ribbon-cutting that he could already feel excitement building around the new school.
Wellen Park High School opens Monday, Aug. 10, with more than 1,000 students in grades 9-12. It is the first new high school in Sarasota County in 25 years, as previously reported, and its athletic infrastructure signals the district's ambitions for the program from day one.
The football stadium seats just under CoolToday Park's 6,200-person capacity, according to Sun Newspapers' reporting from the school's ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 29. A full weight room serves all athletes, and the third-floor hallway overlooks the athletic fields and physical education courts.
The Eagles' first home football game is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 28, at 7:30 p.m. against Gateway High School of Fort Myers, according to the team's MaxPreps schedule.
Building from scratch
Principal Mark Grossenbacher knows what it takes to launch a school from nothing. He was part of the original staff that opened North Port High School in 2001 and told SNN News at the July 29 ribbon-cutting that the experience of building that program informed his approach at Wellen Park.
Grossenbacher, who previously led Woodland Middle School and Englewood Elementary School, told attendees that the founding students "are setting the foundation and the future." He said some of the incoming Eagles were his elementary students years ago, and he expects to walk them across the stage as seniors at graduation in spring 2027.
Between 80 and 90 seniors will form the inaugural graduating class, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Many incoming seniors opted to stay at their previous schools, but some transferred to become founding Eagles.
Youth pipeline already forming
The athletic program already has a feeder system taking shape. Phil Adams founded the Wellen Park Patriots, a Pop Warner youth football and cheer organization, after his older son chose to play at the new high school.
"After playing at Venice, my older son decided he wanted to play football at Wellen Park, and that's kind of how all of this started," Adams told Sun Newspapers in April.
The Patriots field five football teams, from 6U through 14U, and cheer squads for children ages 3 to 15. They compete in the Peace River Conference against the Port Charlotte Bandits, Venice Vikings and Charlotte Warriors. Home games are expected to be played at Wellen Park High's stadium.
County sports landscape shifts
The Eagles enter a competitive Sarasota County athletic scene. During the 2025-26 school year, district student-athletes won 26 district championships, 12 regional championships and two team state titles, with Riverview girls swimming and Sarasota boys swimming both capturing state championships, according to Sarasota County Schools.
A youth basketball camp was already underway in the gymnasium during the July 29 ribbon-cutting.
The $200 million, 81-acre campus at 10801 Manasota Beach Road draws students primarily from Wellen Park, North Port, Venice and Englewood. Wellen Park has ranked among the nation's top-selling master-planned communities for 10 consecutive years and is home to about 10,000 residents, with plans to grow to 50,000 at buildout.
