Sporting Club Jacksonville announced March 2 it will build a mixed-use development centered by a new soccer stadium in the St. Johns Town Center area with hopes to begin playing there by 2028.
Sporting JAX, as the soccer club is better known, intends to develop 150 acres of a 364-acre site across Interstate 295 from the University of North Florida, just north of the Town Center. Club leadership pledged the development will spur economic development and serve as a 365-day venue, even when sporting events are not happening on-site.
The team didn’t immediately respond to questions about the property purchase, including who owns the land
“This will not simply be a stadium. It will be a true urban sporting district with walkable streets, dining, hospitality, nightlife and entertainment, all anchored by a community center stadium at its core,” said Ricky Caplin, Sporting JAX’s majority owner.
“We’re not pursuing something temporary. We are establishing permanentness.”
“What we’re about to commence and announce today is something transformational for Jacksonville, a world class project with world class architecture that ultimately is more than a real estate project or a community building destination,” said Michael McNaughton, president of the Sporting JAX Development Co.
Plans for the site call for a 15,000-seat stadium in the development that would meet the requirements for Sporting JAX’s men’s team to compete in the upcoming United Soccer League Premier league, the highest level of competition offered by the USL. That stadium could expand its capacity in the future, McNaughton said.
The men’s side is set to debut March 7 in the USL Championship, which serves as the USL’s highest competition until the Premier’s debut in 2028.
Sporting JAX’s women’s team plays in the Gainbridge Super League, the highest level of women’s competition offered by the USL.
The club’s officials did not disclose an official start date for construction, saying the club was set to begin permitting. When the permitting is complete, the club plans to “hit the ground running,” Caplin said.
Sporting JAX’s leaders said they hoped the site would be more than just a home stadium for their senior teams. The stadium could host high school championships and youth sporting tournaments.
The development around the stadium, which is set to include retail, restaurants, on-site parking, hotels and residences, would be active every day.
While the club’s leaders did not disclose the investment for the development, they said it would be a catalyst for growth in Jacksonville.
Sporting JAX also will not seek public funding for the project, leadership said.
“We want to be successful on the field, on the pitch, but we want to be successful in caring for all of those lives in our community that we have the chance to touch,” said Tim Tebow, former NFL player and a minority owner in the club.
“We’re seeing Jacksonville expand to the next step, right? We’re seeing Jacksonville evolve with what’s going Downtown,” said former Jacksonville Jaguars running back and minority owner Fred Taylor.
“I truly believe these things are going to change here in the city of Jacksonville.”
Sporting JAX’s development project is backed by NFL Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, Tebow, Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy, former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles and Orlando-based Magnolia Hill Partners Family Office investments.