How is the Indoor Soccer Scene Growing Locally?

With high commercial real estate vacancies and limited options for indoor soccer, three sets of soccer parents are turning an unoccupied warehouse in Rocklin into the home for Placer United Soccer Club and providing an indoor soccer mecca for the local community. 

The group isn’t stopping with this acquisition.  They plan on looking for similar opportunities throughout the region.  Their hope is to create more venues for indoor soccer to thrive.  The closest indoor soccer venue currently is California Family Fitness in Rocklin.

The group acquired 27,000 square feet of industrial space at 1091 Tinker Road, next to Sky Zone and Hardwood Palace, from First Northern Bank in December through a previous foreclosure.  The bank worked with the investor families under the premise that Placer United Soccer Club would sign a 10-year lease with year-one offered rent free, according to Gregg Thompson, Placer United Soccer Club director. 

Placer United is a nonprofit competitive soccer organization serving 700 youth soccer players ages 7-18.  The acquisition of this space enhances the club’s current outdoor practice fields located at Cirby Elementary School in Roseville.

Nelle Thompson, one of the investors, works as an industrial real estate broker.  She identified the space as optimal for the needs of the soccer club.  In working closely with her husband Gregg Thompson, a former pro-soccer player, Olympian, and newly appointed director of Placer United, the two teamed with Jonna and Roger Ward, as well as Granite Bay physician Steve Schorer.  All were in agreement that the size, location, and price were ideal.

Jonna Ward, CEO of Visionary Integration Professionals, immediately bought into the entrepreneurial spirit of what Gregg Thompson wanted to do in providing an exclusive indoor facility to the Placer United Club.  Jonna Ward has a son that plays for the club, lives and breathes soccer, and one day hopes to play at the collegiate level. 

Schorer has three children; two of which previously played for Placer United and one that is currently with the club.

The facility is set to open in toward the middle of March. The Placer United event committee plans an “open house” style grand-opening that will showcase what the facility has to offer.

Placer United plans also to rent the space to other groups that are looking for an indoor venue for events.

Follow their Twitter and Facebook pages for more information.