JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 A newly released site map is offering the clearest look yet at how Sporting JAX\u2019s proposed stadium district near the St. Johns Town Center could be laid out, as the project continues moving through environmental review and draws mixed reaction from area residents.<\/p>\n
Published on the club\u2019s Centre JAX website, the preliminary plan breaks the development into six districts across roughly 375 acres near Interstate 295 and Town Center Parkway. The update comes after some neighbors raised concerns about the size of the planned 15,000-seat stadium and how it would fit near existing neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
Latest map released by SportingJax (Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n
The site map shows the project would include stadium, retail, entertainment, hospitality, healthcare and residential components, along with one area labeled as undeveloped wetlands.<\/p>\n
Sporting JAX says the stadium would serve as the centerpiece of a walkable, year-round destination designed to host men\u2019s and women\u2019s professional soccer, along with other sports and community events.<\/p>\n
The men\u2019s team currently competes in the United Soccer League Championship, while the women\u2019s team plays in the Gainbridge Super League. The club has said the new stadium would be designed to meet requirements for the men\u2019s team to compete in the planned USL Premier league when it launches in 2028. Sporting JAX has said it hopes to begin playing in the new stadium that same year.<\/p>\n
Neighbors raise concerns about scale and location<\/p>\n
The release of the site map comes as residents continue to voice concerns about the scale of the project and its proximity to nearby neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
At a recent Jacksonville City Council meeting, some residents said they believe the stadium and surrounding development do not fit the area as planned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo we have to accept that progress is inevitable? Does every neighborhood have to continue in fear that developers can callously ruin their community?\u201d Cathleen Parra asked the council. \u201cDo cities want citizens to swallow that all big money will have their way? That is the threat all neighborhoods had to deal with: a morgue, a slaughterhouse, and now a 15-thousand-seat soccer stadium.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parra added that development in the area should follow more thoughtful, planned growth, rather than what they described as a rushed or disorganized approach. <\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone should know by now that smart planning and development should be the norm, the helter-skelter approach should have gone away in the last century,\u201d Parra said. \u201cA soccer stadium is not a good fit with the two surrounding neighborhoods.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rendering of potential soccer stadium (Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a sporting complex, isn\u2019t that where the sports are supposed to go? The sporting complex?\u201d asked another resident. \u201cI think things should make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, not all feedback has been critical. Some residents near the Town Center told News4Jax\u2019s Reporter Briana Brownlee and photojournalist Jesse Hanson they see potential benefits in additional development in the area. Clarence Taylor said he fully supports the development, even if that means more traffic. <\/p>\n
\u201cI stay close by, it will be easier to get to it and more people in the area,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cIt\u2019s convenient, you don\u2019t have to drive all across town, and it\u2019s something nice for south side.\u201d<\/p>\n
Environmental review ongoing<\/p>\n
The project is still in the early stages of regulatory review. Earlier this year, records showed the St. Johns River Water Management District was reviewing an application tied to stormwater management and potential activity in or near wetlands on the property.<\/p>\n
According to those filings, the review includes construction or operation of new works and a stormwater management system, as well as activities within or near wetlands or surface waters.<\/p>\n
Sporting JAX has not announced a final construction timeline but continues to target a 2028 opening for the stadium.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 A newly released site map is offering the clearest look yet at how Sporting JAX\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319425,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2152,116,118,117,132659,132658,132660],"class_list":["post-319424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-development","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news","tag-jacksonville-sports-development","tag-southside-jacksonville-development","tag-stadium-district-map-jacksonville"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}