The local soccer community will be hosting its first major tournament at the new Galaxy Soccer Complex at the end of the month when 15 teams take part in the Galaxy Fall Soccer Festival.

The event, set Sept. 27-28 at the new complex just off the Bailey Road, will feature U11 and U12 girls' teams from Maryville, Athens, Morristown, Johnson City, Kingsport, Sevierville, Knoxville and Blacksburg, Va., as well as the local squads.

"There will be a good range of teams coming," said Scott Sallah, tournament coordinator. "They are younger girls but a lot of these girls will continue forward and make soccer the sport they want to play in high school. We will have some very good teams coming in. It will be very impressive to watch them play, especially for this age."

There will be 15 teams competing the tournament. Play begins on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 8 a.m. and will continue until 4 p.m. The tournament will wrap up early enough for the teams to travel to Tusculum College to watch a Lady Pioneers soccer match.

On Sunday, play begins at 8:30 a.m. and continues throughout the day.

Many of the teams will be staying overnight, which is expected to make an impact on the local economy.

"I'm guessing six or seven of the teams will be spending the night, so they will be dining at local restaurants, staying in local hotels and bringing money back into the community," Sallah said. "We hope to do this 8-10 times a year and provide a lot of benefits back to the community. There will be people around town all weekend wearing their uniforms, so they will be very visible."