Sporting Jax released a rendering of its mixed-used stadium project slated for the Southside. Team officials expect Sporting Jax to play soccer matches at the facility in 2028. | Submitted, Sporting Jax
Published on March 2, 2026 at 5:18 pm
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Sporting Club Jacksonville announced its intention Monday to build a soccer-specific stadium and mixed-use development on the Southside near the St. Johns Town Center.
Sporting Jax said its intends to buy 364 acres nestled between Town Center Parkway, St. Johns Bluff Road and the University of North Florida.
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Sporting Jax majority owner Ricky Caplin says the project will be privately financed and backed by private capital. The team says it looks forward to further collaboration with city leaders during the planning and permitting process.
“We aspire for the site to be active 365 days a year, not just on match days,” Caplin says. “It will create jobs immediately through construction; generate permanent operational roles over time; expand hospitality and retail employment; and attract regional and national events that bring sustained tourism to North Florida.”
Sporting Jax goals
Sporting Jax plans to build a 15,000-person all-seater stadium.
Michael McNaughton, president of the club’s real estate venture, Sporting Jax Development Co., says he expects matches will be played at the facility in 2028. The development will feature 500,000 square feet of restaurants, retail, hotel and residential space.
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“We felt as though the Town Center area in general offered the highest degree of success possibility because it has already earned the confidence of North Florida as a whole,” McNaughton says. “We’re not asking consumers to change their patterns or to pioneer into areas that don’t fit within their current lifestyle. (This) is intertwined to how they live their daily lives.”
The project is situated within an area the Duval County Property Appraiser’s Office labels Big Island Swamp. The Federal Emergency Management Agency says the property is within an AE flood zone. That requires mandatory flood insurance as well as FEMA elevation certification to develop.
McNaughton says the team will file an application with the Army Corps of Engineers as well as the St. Johns Water Management District this month.
Club officials say the location is within a 20-minute drive of a majority of its fan base.
Soccer support
Southeast Duval County as well as northern St. Johns County have an extended track record of investing in soccer at the youth, varsity and collegiate levels throughout the decades. Sporting Jax has long sought to tap into those markets through its collaboration with the former Florida Elite Soccer Academy.
“We are the largest soccer academy in St. Johns County,” Caplin says. “We have thousands of kids that play soccer. We also have an aquatics team in St. Johns County. So, we’ve always seen this as a North Florida project.
“Jax is our area code, it’s part of our name. This is inclusive of everybody in the region. We plan to continue to expand the regional sports complexes and projects that we have throughout North Florida and the surrounding counties.”
Sporting Jax has yet to announce an architect or construction firm for the project. Caplin says a Request for Information will be released this spring. He did note the club is eager to work with local vendors and partners.
Northeast Florida’s soccer culture has flourished, despite prior stops and starts to get a professional club off the ground. Previous men’s professional teams played in stadiums that were originally built for either football or baseball.
Sporting Jax will play at Hodges Stadium at UNF for the foreseeable future.
The women’s team leads the Gainbridge Super League two-thirds of the way through their inaugural season with 34 points from 18 matches (10-4-4).
“It’s going to be huge for the community,” Sporting Jax women’s coach Stacy Balaam says about the proposed stadium. “It’s going to build fan engagement, and it’s going to create unbelievable memories for us as a club — from the women’s side, the men’s side and for the community itself.”
Sporting Jax minority owner Fred Taylor knows Jacksonville supports teams that win. He adds that the women’s side has set a standard that he hopes the men’s side will emulate when they kick off their first season in the United Soccer League Championship on Saturday evening at Hodges Stadium.
“I’ve seen stuff like this in other cities, and I’ve always said … ‘Why not Jacksonville?’ Why not us?” Taylor asked.
