Even though JAXUSL does not have a scheduled start date to playing games until 2025, they are already doing their part to create buzz within the local community.
The organization which will bring both professional men’s and women’s soccer back to the area hosted an initiative where they partnered with local businesses to host a watch party for each of the three group stage games the United States played in the World Cup.
The first of these was held at the link in Nocatee and was the only of the three to be held in St. Johns County.
Not only was it the opening event of the initiative, but it was also different in other ways, starting with the space, which presented more of a theater style atmosphere when watching the game, as opposed to the other two events that were held at traditional restaurants and bars.
According to Livingstone, the first watch party was also geared more with the local business community in mind, leading to a special event at a special place to watch the U.S. opener at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Founding owner and managing director Steve Livingstone
“The timing of everything has been great,” Livingstone said. “Obliviously, we announced the franchise back in August, and then one of the nice things about it being a World Cup year is that you can do nice events like this.”
Not only is JAXUSL doing its part to be present among the community, but it is also encouraging feedback from residents when it comes to ideas for a team name and team colors.
Fans can give their suggestions by going to jaxusl.com.
Talks are also underway to find a site and work out and agreement for a stadium the team can call home. St. Johns County is part of those stadium discussions.
“As we continue the development and morph into where we’re going to have a stadium, we thought it was important to have one of the events down here in St. Johns County,” Livingstone said. “We’ve been talking to St. Johns County for years now, and they’ve been very supportive of what we’re trying to do, and that’s really exciting. We want to be representative of everyone on the First Coast.”
The other watch party sites included Culhane’s Irish Pub and Intuition Ale Works Bier Hall, both in Jacksonville.
“We’re trying to really introduce ourselves and get to know the community,” Livingstone said. “It’s all about building that supporter base and earning the trust of the community. For this thing to work and for it to be sustainable, it’s going to take a village.”
Even though it has only been months since the plan was announced and made official, it had been something that had been discussed as an idea for years, so for it to come even this far has been quite the journey and Livingstone is excited for what lies ahead.
“As we continue, we’ll be making a whole series of announcements, and next up will likely be the stadium and the facility and then hopefully sometime early next year (2024) we can reveal the brand,” Livingstone said. “From there, we’ll be off to the races.”
