Soccer has been kicked around for the Regency Square Mall property, specifically the previously reported speculation that Sporting Club Jacksonville was considering the closed Sears store site for development of a stadium facility.
Sporting Club Jacksonville, previously called JAXUSL, is part of the United Soccer League. Plans for Sporting Club Jacksonville include men’s and women’s teams. It says its name will commonly be abbreviated to “Sporting JAX.”
Action News Jax reporter Ben Becker first reported April 17, 2024, that the site of the Regency Square Mall could soon be torn down to make way for a major retail redevelopment, including a soccer stadium.
The next day, Blackwater Development LLC did not confirm that Sporting JAX will redevelop it.
“There are no plans for the soccer team to be on the Regency Square Mall site that Blackwater Development has under contract,” Blackwater Development founder and President Rurmell McGee said at the time.
Lake City-based Blackwater Development announced April 9 that it has closed on the purchase of the mall. It did not address any Sporting JAX involvement.
The Sears store, Dillard’s Clearance Center and Impact Church are separately owned. It’s unclear what role they will play in the Blackwater redevelopment.
McGee said May 29, 2024, that as far as he knew, there were no plans for Sporting JAX at the Regency property.
At Scenic Jacksonville’s Scenic Vision series on “The Future of Arlington” at Jacksonville University, McGee was called up to the front of the room to talk to the crowd.
Tony Allegretti, part of the Sporting JAX ownership group, attended the event and separately spoke with McGee, but declined comment when asked about the status of the project as he was leaving.
Daily Record news partner News4Jax.com reported March 20, 2025, that Regency Square Mall was one of 55 locations to be a potential contender to house a new stadium facility for Sporting JAX.
The news site said that if selected, the stadium would be located at the former Sears property.
Sporting JAX CEO Steve Livingstone said the team expected movement on the stadium deal “hopefully before the summer. Hopefully sometime in the spring.”
“Again we’ve been looking at 55 different locations around Northeast Florida. We’ve narrowed it down to a few, and we’re putting some final touches on that. The good thing is it will be one location but we’re not in a position to say where that is.”
Livingstone issued a statement April 10.
"We’re continuing to evaluate several sites in Northeast Florida and will share more details as they are finalized.”