The first phase of the St. Johns County Police Athletic League's new athletic complex in Elkton will include three football fields, one encircled by a running track. | St. Johns PAL
Published on December 29, 2023 at 12:13 pm
Find everything you need to make informed decisions this election season, plus so much more. Sign up for the Jacksonville Today newsletter.
Right now, it’s 37 acres of land just north of St. Johns County’s solid waste operation in Elkton, next to fields used for BMX bicycling and radio controlled airplanes.
But by 2025, a sports complex of the St. Johns County Police Athletic League will open at 2825 Allen Nease Road. The first phase will include three full-size football fields, one with a track around it.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
Ultimately, the complex will be able to handle a variety of events including football, soccer, baseball, track and field, even concerts, said Thompson Hinman, executive director of St. Johns County’s PAL. About 2,500 boys and girls annually play flag and tackle football as well as baseball, along with cheerleading and boxing programs, most held now in county park facilities.
“That’s why a facility like this to house all our events and programs is really a big thing for the community,” Hinman said. “We have 37 acres, so we have a lot of land and a lot of potential out there.”
PAL is a mentorship program partnered with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
The price of the first phase is estimated at $8 million, and PAL has collected $6.5 million so far, Hinman said. Once the first phase is done, PAL will prepare to build a second phase that would add two more football fields and three baseball/softball diamonds. And like the first phase, a running track will encircle one of the football fields.
The full complex should have even more sports fields and indoor facilities for the boxing program, which started in late 2020 at the Harris Community Center in Hastings.
“The end goal is to have about four or five football fields that can obviously be used for a variety of sports and activities,” Hinman said. “We would also like to have some baseball and softball fields with the hopes of an indoor facility to house some basketball as well as our boxing. Indoor facilities are in the works, but that is still a couple of years away. But as we gain additional funding and knowledge throughout the community, we see it happening to really be a true athletic complex to serve the community.”
Much of the initial funding — $5.9 million — came this year from the state, approved by the governor in this year’s budget “as a jump start for the facility,” Hinman said. Now PAL is working with community members and businesses to raise the additional money to fully complete the first phase and start on the second. Some donors could get naming rights and other sponsorship opportunities, Hinman said.
“It’s really great to see the community come together and support this project financially,” he said. “It is so needed. The kids deserve it, and it is great to share that mission with the community.”
PAL does not have an exact date in 2025 for when the complex’s first phase will be ready for play. Construction on the second phase could start about the same time. Hinman said he expects the opening of the first fields to help spur continued community and business funding.
