Friday marked the grand opening of the Placer Valley Soccer Complex, a project decades in the making and putting Roseville on the map to become a soccer destination.

The 51-acre complex has 10 lighted fields and state-of-the-art equipment are all ready to go for thousands of players and coaches. It's located on Westbrook Boulevard in West Roseville.

"It's huge," said Placer United coach Bryan Byrne. "I've been living in the community for the past 10 years, and this is something that has been craved. The fields are fantastic."

The goal is to have a complex capable of hosting tournaments that can bring thousands of athletes to the city.

"We are going to be having a national draw of people coming to the Roseville area," said Placer Valley Tourism CEO Kim Summers.

Roseville already has the Rosebelen Center at the fairgrounds, which hosts large basketball and volleyball tournaments that often fill up hotels. This new soccer complex could double the number of tournaments coming to town.

"Over the course of a year, we expect more than 600,000 visitors to this complex," said Jill Geller, the city's parks director. "They'll eat at our restaurants, shop at our shops, stay at our hotels and really boost our economy."

The complex's calendar is already filling up.

"We'll be using the fields every day for practices, games on the weekend, tournaments on the weekends, so we're pretty much booked up already for next year," Geller said.

The artificial turf has a built-in underground drainage system, so matches can be held year-round - even when it's raining.

"The water goes through, it drains out and these fields will not hold water," Geller said.

The facility also features the city's largest playground, and it includes two plazas with room for outdoor dining and food trucks. There's also enough space for other sports, such as lacrosse, field hockey and much more.

"So to have these fields to showcase Roseville and Placer County is going to be huge," Byrne said. 

The total cost is $61 million, and it's an asset that players and coaches say is needed for this growing region.

"The talent's here and now they've got somewhere to express that talent and showcase it, and I think it's the start of something special in the area for sure," said Martin Johnson with the Placer United Soccer Club.

It's a facility not just for coaches and players, but for the community.

"They can come out and watch their kids play soccer between games," Geller said. "We've got picnic areas, concessions and a trail that surrounds the facility as well."

There's also enough space for other sports, such as lacrosse, field hockey and much more.

"So to have these fields to showcase Roseville and Placer County is going to be huge," Byrne said.

The grand opening was Friday night and included soccer demos, flag football, adult soccer and even some foam blaster drop-in games too.

In April, the complex will be hosting the Quadball National Championship, which is a Harry Potter-inspired game with 60 teams from across the country competing.