JAXUSL, the operating company formed to introduce and develop men’s and women’s professional United Soccer League franchises in northeast Florida, has proposed a 15-field sportsplex near Jacksonville.

According to the organisation, the USD30 million investment could bring an estimated USD150 million in revenue over the next decade. JAXUSL has proposed a public-private partnership to develop the 30-hectare/73-acre site in St. Johns County.

“It would not only act as a training site for us. Three of the 15 fields we are proposing would be for our training base for the men’s and women’s pro teams,” JAXUSL President and CEO Steve Livingstone told local publication Jacksonville Today.

The proposed fields are to be used by a professional football club as well as the local community.

Multiple fields

According to the plans, the complex would get ten natural turf football fields, of which at least one would meet the requirements to host professional football, and five MUGA synthetic turf surfaces. The synthetic turf fields would host football/soccer, baseball or lacrosse.

An eight-lane athletic track and a mini-stadium suitable for Special Olympics and regional events with bleacher seating for up to 3,000 complements the proposal.

Land swap

The proposed site is close to a site where the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) plans to build the last stage of a toll road that ultimately will connect Interstate 10 in West Jacksonville with Clay County and then St. Johns County via a new Shands Bridge.

As it is close to a site where St. Johns County had already planned an eight-field sports complex, JAXUSL proposes a land swap, whereby the organisation transfers the approximately 12 hectares/33 acres it owns down the road from the FDOT site to secure an adjacent site.

On track

JAXUSL was formed when its CEO Steve Livingstone and entrepreneur Tony Allegretti partnered with entrepreneur Ricky Caplin and former player Tim Tebow to bring competitive football to the Jacksonville area by 2025.

They estimate that the project will create almost 130 jobs.