Plans for a new indoor sports complex in Seaford generated enthusiasm from City Council members.
NXT Level Sports plans to build a 15,000 square foot building in the city, which will include an indoor soccer field and pickleball courts. While the owners don’t need approval from the City Council, they presented their plans to members at their most recent meeting.
Steve Matalavage, one of the owners, stressed that the new facility would be a place that youth could go, regardless of the weather forecast.
“It's a safe place for people to come and play - for their children, teens, year-round as well,” he said. “It's indoor, so whether it's too hot or it's too cold you can go in there.”
Matalavage and his partners, Alexis Torres and Miguel Aceves, all have roots in Southern Delaware. The three first met while participating in a now-defunct soccer league once based in Seaford. They also have previous experience in the region;s soccer scene.
Construction on the new building is on an aggressive timeline. Matalavage says work is expected to start later this month, with an expected completion in October. To mark the opening, he said they want to host a soccer tournament. That’s something that Torres, who manages an indoor soccer facility in Lincoln, said he has experience with.
“I've done one day tournaments in there with 32 teams,” he told council members. “I brought in 5,000 people and I've knocked out a whole tournament in one day.”
Indoor soccer tournament games are much shorter than traditional outdoor matches, clocking in at 30 minutes instead of 90.
Matalavage stressed that the new facility would be an economic driver for Seaford.
“By adding this, it'll drive a lot of visitors to Seaford and grow the restaurants, grow the businesses in the area,” he said.
Vice-Mayor Dan Henderson urged Matalavage and his partners to think big for their own benefit and the town’s.
“My suggestion would be to develop a tournament that is multiple days so that people can avail themselves of the restaurants, stay in hotels, and not just a one day and go,” he said.
All council members had positive comments, and more than a few suggestions, for the new business, including adding more soccer fields and batting cages.
Mayor Matt MacCoy thanked the three entrepreneurs for their investment, noting that a project like this has been a long time coming.
“This concept or something similar to this has been discussed here in the City of Seaford, I know, for close to 10 years and it has not come to fruition,” he said. “So I just want to thank you for me and our community because I think they're going to be very excited once this becomes a real deal.”
Matalavage also floated the idea of one day rebooting the Seaford-based soccer league where he and his partners met as kids.
