FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Tennis, basketball, and now the City of Florence can add a soccer complex to the list of new athletic facilities over the past couple years.The $7 million soccer complex is located at the intersection of I-95 and West Palmetto Street and will be open for games and the public beginning next month.Florence City Mayor Stephen Wukela said the new facility will have 14 regulation sized soccer fields for youth soccer which, he said, is twice the size of the current soccer complex. The Mayor also said the project will accommodate the more than 700 soccer players in the area.“Soccer is a sport that’s growing by leaps and bounds in the City of Florence,” said Wukela.Wukela said the land for the complex was donated by the Drs. Bruce and Lee Foundation which then also gave the city $6 million to build the facility.“This really continues the trend of Florence becoming a destination for sports activities,” He said, “Sports tourism is very prominent and our location on I-95 and the proximity to the beach and the mountains and to Charleston allows us to really draw a lot of that activity.”Wukela said on top of the donated $6 million from the Drs. Bruce and Lee Foundation, the county used one million dollars in referendum money to re-align the roads that lead to the facility in order to help the flow of traffic.The Mayor said there is also a plan for a separate facility near the complex that would house both public restrooms and a concessions stand. Wukela said hopes to see a new baseball facility in the future and that these sports complexes will help the City of Florence.“In addition to hosting recreational soccer and select travel soccer we anticipate having tournaments come in which will bring revenue into the community and some hospitality dollars that will help us fund the operations of the facility.”
