IMG Academy announces expansion, new three-phase multi-sport complex

IMG Academy has started construction on new multi-sport complex addition to its Bradenton campus.

In the first phase of development, the academy will create a 5,000-seat stadium. The sports facility, which is scheduled to open in August, will also include an eight-lane, 400-meter track, a broadcast-ready press box with coach, press and radio rooms, hospitality suites and a collegiate-style video board. IMG Academy also plans to open a new stadium field for baseball.

In the second phase, the private athletic training institute plans to create a 40,000-square-foot field house with multiple locker rooms, meeting spaces and offices. The second phase is scheduled to open in December.

In the third and final phase, IMG Academy has announced plans to create research and development facilities for sports performance companies. IMG Academy will create new multi-sport field venues to bring the total sports fields to more than 20 servicing soccer, lacrosse, baseball and football.

The new facilities are expected to be particularly important to IMG Worldwide's relatively new IMG Performance division. Created in 2012, IMG Performance owns and manages more than 100 sporting events, many of which take place at IMG Academy and will now be staged in the new complex.