Downtown Soccer Stadium Moves Forward?
Land transfer and federal grant could mean long-awaited construction is imminent.
Iron District stadium rendering. Rendering by Kahler Slater.
Construction on a long-awaited downtown soccer stadium could be underway later this year.
In a seemingly innocuous move, an affiliate of Bear Development, the master developer of the Iron District, transferred a parcel Friday valued at $9.3 million to a newly-created entity affiliated with the nonprofit Milwaukee Development Corporation arm of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.
The affiliation with the nonprofit would make the stadium, slated to be home to an unnamed men’s Milwaukee Pro Soccer team that competes in the United Soccer League’s Championship League, eligible to accept a $9.3 million state grant of federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Marquette University would also use the stadium for its men’s and women’s soccer and lacrosse teams. According to earlier statements by the development group, the 8,000-seat stadium would have artificial turf. As of 2023, the stadium was expected to cost more than $40 million to develop.
The stadium is to be built on vacant land near the intersection of W. Michigan and N. 8th streets.
The progress toward construction could put the proposed professional team back on track for a proposed 2026 start date.
The $9.3 million grant, under federal law, must be spent by the end of 2026. Unlike other federal grants subject to potential cuts by the Trump administration, the money was already allocated to the state.
The team, owned by Kacmarcik Enterprises, was first announced in 2022 with an expected first game in 2025. Kacmarcik, led by businessman Jim Kacmarcik, also owns Forward Madison FC. The Madison soccer team plays in USL League One, one level below the Championship League, in a city-owned stadium.
The Championship League is one level below Major League Soccer,
The team’s ownership group will eventually need to pay an entrance fee to the league. Forbes previously reported that the one-time fee had climbed from $1 million in 2015 to $12 million in 2020. Entry fees for Major League Soccer, the top level of pro soccer, which also includes bigger stadiums, cost more than $200 million.
Representatives of Bear and Kacmarcik did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
The only building to be completed in the Iron District is Michigan Street Commons, a 99-unit affordable apartment building at 915 W. Michigan St.
The development is slated to also include a hotel and a second apartment building, constructed atop a largely-vacant office building. The second apartment building replaced a proposed concert venue that would have competed with a new venue being built near Fiserv Forum.
2022 Renderings
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
It’s tough to be both optimistic and skeptical at the same time about this, but that’s where I am. I like this commenters take on USL expansion and Milwaukee:
https://www.usltactics.com/p/usl-championship-expansion-winter
Indeed, even if construction were to start this summer, the previously reported 14-16 month building period would mean not opening for the beginning of the 2026 season. (Starts in March but, as a northern city, Milwaukee could get an April home opener.)
Right? And then there’s the matter of having a team… The bit about Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt considering expanding it’s current partnership with Forward Madison to include USL Milwaukee would be meaningful, but no word yet.