For years, the west side of Indianapolis has never been known as a prime place for soccer to thrive.
Everywhere else around the city, places such as Indy Eleven, Indiana Soccer Academy, and Indy Premier Soccer Club are thriving clubs. Now meet Next Academy Inc., a non-profit organization that gives kids opportunities through sports and non-sports.
Next Academy decided to build a new rec center next to the Ben Davis Soccer Club and the Ben Davis Youth Girls Softball Complex at the corner of 21st Street and Girls School Road. Within that is NEXT 11 Academy, a soccer program that will call that location home. The people behind this new soccer center are former Ben Davis graduates Lauren Holiday, a midfielder for the United States Women’s Soccer National Team from 2007 to 2015 with two Olympic gold medals and winning a World Cup. The second graduate is 2005 alum Tamba Samba, who went on to play soccer for Notre Dame all four years of college.
“I grew up in Wayne Township, right down on 21st Street,” Samba said. “went to Ben Davis High School, and when I was young there was a travel youth soccer program in town.
“Shortly after I played with that team when they disbanded and there wasn’t anywhere to play. So I ended up going down a level. I was fortunate when high school time came around that I was able to find a travel team in the area and because I was playing for that travel team I was able to be recognized and noticed by the top colleges.”
Samba is excited about the plan design for the upcoming soccer fields, indoor facility, and further broke down the cost of the project.
“We plan to embark on this project in a multi-phase approach,” Samba said. “We are going to break it down into four phases, the first phase will start in the spring of 2025, targeting one full size turf field. We have many aspects of this project, a small stadium, but the crown jewel being the indoor facility.”
Samba shared the financial plans for all four phases It is approximately $21.6 million spread across all four phases.
Phase 1: $3.75M (includes 11v11 turf field, admin/storage building, and site work).
Phase 2: $3.28M (Includes 2 grass fields, 1 small-sided field, modular community campus, and parking).
Phase 3: $3.41M (includes turf stadium with seating and lighting).
Phase 4: $11.13 (includes 82,640 sq ft indoor facility with multi-use courts, and turf fields)
Samba believes this facility will have a major impact on west side soccer.
“Having more facilities, especially turf facilities on this side of town will allow players to play more,” he said. “In terms of impact to the community, you will see a lot more energy on the west side. A lot of people end up leaving to go to the north side of town to find good facilities and top programs. We hope to see a lot more of these kids staying here and playing their trade here with us.
“From a community aspect, we hope to see a lot more energy, a lot more people coming to visit Wayne Sports Park. There are some strategic projects that are taking off like B&O Trail, that goes right by our fields. We hope to tap into that energy that project brings to the area.”
The indoor facility is expected to be finished in the fall of 2026, and with that it is going to be replacing Wayne Sports Park. The benefits of this facility will be a boost to the Wayne Township in more ways than just people and their talents.
Next Academy Inc. will bring more reasons to live on the west side.