A sporting complex with a stadium and 22 fields will provide something that metro Atlanta currently lacks: a large space for regional and national soccer tournaments.
Atlanta Sports City was announced Wednesday and will be built on 200 acres next to Stonecrest Mall.
Supporters of the project hope it will bring attract youth teams from across the region to a central location near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and I-20.
The complex is expected to draw 3 million visitors annually with a $197 million economic impact, according to a study by the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
It will meet the needs of metro Atlanta’s vibrant sporting community for more space, said Greg Griffith, executive director for the Georgia Soccer Association.
LakePoint Sporting Community in Emerson is bigger than Atlanta Sports City, but it only has three multipurpose fields compared to the 22 planned at Stonecrest.
“Look around. We’re going to have a lot of fields,” Griffith said as he overlooked vacant land where the complex will be built. “This is going to be awesome.”
Construction is expected to begin in fall, and the first soccer fields could open by the end of this year.
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