Cleveland Soccer Group Eyes Smaller $50 Million Stadium After Securing Women's Team

Cleveland Pro Soccer released an updated $50 million version of the South Gateway Stadium they want built on the edge of Downtown Cleveland. Credit: Cleveland Pro Soccer

The Cleveland Pro Soccer group this week announced that following the failed bid for an NWSL expansion team it intends to pivot to a smaller $50-million stadium with 10,000 seats that would be home to a new, as of yet unannounced women’s team and the already awarded MLS NEXT Pro team. Original plans called for a $150 million facility.

There remain no firm financing plans, Cleveland Pro Soccer co-owner Michael Murphy told Scene, but the group hopes to gain public contributions from the city of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County and the state of Ohio. Murphy said he hopes the stadium could be finished by 2026.

Murphy declined to specify which league Cleveland’s new women’s team would play in, though the USL logo is seen throughout a video teaser released Tuesday and, by process of elimination, remains the probable answer.

The two teams would play at the South Gateway Stadium, as it’s being called now, just down the block from Progressive Field. Cleveland Soccer had secured the real estate with the help of the Cleveland Metroparks, which facilitated the purchase of the property from ODOT and Cleveland. Cleveland Soccer footed the bill and in the future would lease the land from the parks system.

As for the new designs, Murphy took a lesson from a visit to Lexington, KY, to check out its brand new Sporting Club Stadium. Murphy was wowed: an 11,000-capacity stadium attached to seven training fields. With a price tag of $80 million.

“The first thing I thought was, ‘Okay, but what if we brought this to Cleveland?” Murphy said. “It looks, feels, smells and tastes like pro soccer. The answer was unequivocally yes.”

All what Murphy thinks could be built in a year’s time, ideally before the FIFA World Cup makes its way to the U.S. in 2028.

“And at a third the cost of the [original] investment,” he said.

That’s because much of the build would be done offsite, making construction faster, easer and cheaper. It would also leave the possibility of expansion down the line.

A new video rendering, released Tuesday, shows a sleek, black-and-white arena covered by a wavy, scalloped white roof. There’s a sports bar, a VIP area and 12 suites. A social and event space is to occupy the second floor of offices and locker rooms for players. Along with 10,000 seats for fans.

Despite the failed NWSL bid, Murphy has attempted to keep the momentum going. He’s collected 16,000 promises to buy a season ticket. He persuaded the Metroparks into fashioning South Gateway Stadium as a node in its area trail network. He even had “successful” talks with the RTA about building a new Red Line stop nearby.

South Gateway could amount to, Murphy said, over $200 million in tax revenues over the years with hopes to host 60 events a year. St. Ignatius, St. Ed’s and Cleveland State University have expressed interest in hosting games there, for instasnce. Murphy estimates the project would create 473 construction jobs and 254 permanent positions.

There was additional soccer news last month as well.

On February 27, the Women’s Premier Soccer League said that Cleveland will be scoring an expansion team under the ownership of the Internationals Soccer Club, and will play in the Lake Erie Division of the Great Lakes Conference.

“That team is a top flight amateur team that will play this year in the longest running women’s soccer team in the country,” Murphy said. “We hope to work closely with them. We will announce our professional team soon.”

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