Plans are under way to build a large, indoor soccer facility in the Baymeadows area. It’d go in at the end of Baymeadows Way West, off of Philips Highway and about a mile north of Baymeadows Road. The 7.87 acres of vacant land, right up against Interstate 95, are up for rezoing before Jacksonville City Council.
It’s going to be a 50,000-square-foot facility, said Ciaran McArdle, the co-founder and CEO of XL Sports World, who has a Scottish accent that fits his name very well. It will include two 6x6 turf soccer fields as well as fields for futsal, a version of soccer played on a hard surface.
XL Sports has seven current locations along the East Coast, from Maine to Orlando, and has been been adding two a year lately. McCardle said it will have its own leagues but will also rent space to other teams and even other sports. Eventually, outdoor fields will be added, he said.
The total price tag is $5 million, and it will take about a year to build.
Roger Bull: (904) 359-4296
