Clay County is looking for a private partner to expand its Regional Sports Complex in Middleburg. The county posted a solicitation asking firms to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the next phase of the 250-acre facility.

The public-private partnership solicitation, Project 26/27-003, appeared on the county's procurement portal on Oct. 8. Proposals are due by Nov. 9.

No addenda had been posted as of Oct. 18. The county has not publicly disclosed the project's estimated cost or the specific scope of the expansion.

The complex opened on April 5, 2024, after the county broke ground on March 28, 2023, according to a Clay Today report. That first phase cost $7 million, funded in part by $3 million in legislative matching funds and $2.5 million in legislative appropriations. It was billed as the first of three phases and delivered eight multi-purpose fields for soccer, lacrosse, flag football, field hockey and ultimate frisbee.

The fields drew praise after the complex opened. Sunshine State Games Ultimate Frisbee Championships director Eric Tumelty told Clay Today in June 2024 that the facility impressed athletes who competed there.

"Those are among the best fields I've ever played on, and I've been playing Ultimate Frisbee since 2014," Tumelty said. "The quality of the grass, it's all even. It's all full-rooted grass."

The procurement listing does not name which county officials are overseeing the solicitation or what the expansion would add to the existing complex. Phase 1 was funded through legislative appropriations; the new solicitation asks a private firm to finance the project.

Interested firms can find the solicitation on the Clay County procurement portal. The county's 10th Annual Procurement Conference is scheduled for Nov. 12.