TOCA Football Inc., a technology-enabled soccer experience company in Costa Mesa, Calif., today announced the expansion of its growing footprint in the Midwest with the acquisition of Total Sports in Novi. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The acquisition includes seven indoor sports facilities in metro Detroit and northeast Ohio. With the addition of Total Sports, TOCA now operates 14 multi-sports centers in the Midwest, including five centers in Cleveland, and a 90,000-square-foot facility in Naperville, Ill.
As part of the transaction, TOCA will be onboarding a group of operators and a league business of more than 900 teams. The seven Total Sports centers are nearly 1,000,000 square feet in total size, plus an additional 400,000 square feet of outdoor synthetic turf baseball and softball fields.
TOCA is taking over the first full field indoor facility in Michigan, with centers across the metro Detroit area and northeast Ohio. One of the centers is the largest indoor youth-based sports facility in the state of Michigan and when combined, the centers average more than 2 million annual visitors.
Beginning in 2023, TOCA, as an official training and entertainment facility partner of MLS, will integrate MLS content in all its Detroit training centers. Additionally, TOCA and MLS will jointly develop training curricula that leverages TOCA’s proprietary technologies including its data-capture and analytics.
The 10-year partnership will serve as a foundation for the long-term growth and development of soccer and reflects the region’s commitment to investing in the sport’s expansion.
“Expanding our existing Midwestern presence with the acquisition of seven new indoor sports venues in Detroit provides an incredibly exciting opportunity for TOCA,” says Yoshi Maruyama, CEO of TOCA. “Detroit is the perfect city to continue our mission of bringing the joy and excitement of soccer around the world. We want to welcome everyone, from beginners to highly experienced players, to come experience what our technology has to offer.”
TOCA was founded in 2016 by two-time U.S. World Cup and former MLS and English Premier League midfielder Eddie Lewis.
“TOCA’s world-class athletic training technology is unlike any other in the sports tech market and will usher in the next chapter of player development in the Detroit community,” says Tony Moscone, owner of Total Sports Complex. “With an emphasis on fully embedding itself within Detroit’s athletic culture, we can’t wait to see what’s in store. We are thrilled to have provided the best resources for youth sports in Detroit for the last 25 years. TOCA is committed to maintaining that goal while retaining the core character of our Total Sports locations.”
TOCA has two divisions that comprise its global portfolio: TOCA Soccer, the largest operator of indoor soccer centers across North America, and TOCA Social, the world’s first entertainment and dining experience built around immersive soccer-based game play, with a first venue at the O2 in London, and multiple venues opening globally in 2023.
For more information visit www.TOCAfootball.com.
Editor: R.J. King
Associate Editor: Jake Bekemeyer