Soccer organizations face obstacles toward building $65 million Des Moines stadium
By Jack Moore
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DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — MLS Next Pro, Sporting Kansas City and Hometown Soccer unveiled plans earlier this week for a $65 million soccer stadium in Des Moines.
The organizations told KCCI the stadium could host multiple types of sports, accommodate between 5,500 and 6,500 people, and set the stage for professional soccer expansion in Iowa.
“This would be a really, really great marriage, to be able to move the MLS Next Pro team, Sporting Kansas City, to Des Moines and make this team really a Des Moines team,” president of MLS Next Pro Ali Curtis said.
The proposed stadium would be built on the site of two large parking lots in the center of Des Moines near 9th and Crocker streets. However, the project still faces significant hurdles.
A corporate spokesperson for Principal Financial Group, the owner of the proposed site, said they have been contacted, but no agreement for a property sale has been reached.
“Hometwon Soccer Holdings (HSH) has inquired about property currently listed for sale; no agreement or commitment has been made,” the statement read.
This is not the first stadium proposal the city has considered. Des Moines spent seven years negotiating with another organization to build a stadium at the former DICO site, but those negotiations ended without a deal.
KCCI reached out to the city for comment, but were referred to a statement from Tuesday when the project was proposed. That statement from Mayor Connie Boesen said, in part, “The city is open to new possibilities, but it is our duty as a city to represent the best interests of our residents, taxpayers, and all of Central Iowa.”
Despite the challenges, Sporting Kansas City President Jake Reid expressed optimism about the project.
“I think it’s a great market, great fans already. We’ve been there from a club standpoint for over a decade. So, you know, again, I think for us, this is an amazing opportunity to just continue a lot of the momentum that Des Moines already has,” Reid said.
Curtis from MLS Next Pro said their next step is engaging with city leaders to work out the details.
“We’ve got to build upon some of those conversations with different civic leaders to advance the ball,” Curtis said. “That’s what we’re focused on.”
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