The popular Players Paradise indoor sports facility in Stoney Creek has been sold to Green Relief Inc., a Flamborough-based medical marijuana grow operation.

Tasha Mazza-Kelton, president of Players Paradise, said the facility, operating since 2009, will close Oct. 31, but had been on the market for a number of years. She said the facility was sold last week. Warren Bravo, the chief executive officer of Green Relief Inc. said the company was approached by a real estate firm to determine if they were interested in the 100,000-square-foot facility.

“After some investigation, we realized that this deal not only made a lot of sense for Green Relief, but for the Stoney Creek community as well,” said Bravo, who operates Bravo Cement Contractor in Stoney Creek.

“We know the Stoney Creek community,” he said.

Green Relief, a medical marijuana firm licensed by Health Canada, produces cannabis oil from dried flowers grown through aquaponics, the only medical cannabis company to use such technology.

Bravo said the Stoney Creek location will be the company’s third facility. It already has a 32,000-square-foot facility operating in Flamborough and a 240,000-square-foot building is under construction.

Bravo said he is expected to spend about $9 million to meet Health Canada requirements to retrofit the Players Paradise building to improve security and build a second floor that will double the company’s production, while adding about 100 extra jobs.  The company, which already employs about 50 people at its current Flamborough operation, is expected to host a job fair over the next few months.

He said it will take about seven months to grow the first cannabis plants.

Stoney Creek Coun. Maria Pearson said the sale, which had been speculated about last week, is “profoundly disappointing."

She said it will “displace” a number of user groups, including Saltfleet Stoney Creek Soccer, which has 3,000 players, which will now have to search for different accommodations for the upcoming winter season.

Mazza-Kelton said Players Paradise notified all of its tenants and sporting groups “as per our lease requirements as soon as possible” about the facility closing.

She said Players Paradise has contacted other indoor facilities in an effort to accommodate the user groups’ accommodation issues.

Bravo said the company will provide Saltfleet Stoney Creek Soccer Club with $10,000 in financial aid to help with relocation expenses. Bravo said he is waiting for the soccer club to fill out the details.

“We are here to help the user groups,” he said. “We did not pursue this building. We didn’t want to push these groups out. So we want to assist them as much as we can.”

Pearson said the facility, which is located in an industrial area, was allowed to not only host sporting events, but also trade shows, commercial events and RV galas.

Under the city’s 2014 bylaw, a medical marijuana facility is allowed to operate within an industrial area throughout the city, said Pearson.

“There is nothing the city can do to stop a private land owner from selling his property to whomever he wishes,” said Pearson. “Players Paradise is in an industrial area and medical marijuana use would be allowed.”

Players Paradise opened in 2009, offering sporting groups 72,000-square-feet of turf. It is 52 feet high.

“This building is an opportunity for us,” said Bravo. “It is a blank canvas for us.”