CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Soccer Group on Thursday released new details on its efforts to bring a National Women's Soccer League franchise to The Land.
CSG released an economic impact study as well as artistic renderings and videos of its proposal for a South Gateway stadium just south of Progressive Field and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in downtown Cleveland, which the group hopes will become the first dedicated women's sports facility in the United States funded by a combination of public and private funds.
"Thirty years ago, local elected officials made a game-changing decision to support Jacobs Field and Gund Arena," group CEO Michael Murphy said. "That decision transformed Gateway from surface parking lots to the region's largest entertainment and hospitality destination enjoyed by millions annually. This soccer stadium project would be another huge step to build on the momentum of the visionary Shore to Core to Shore development plan for Downtown Cleveland."
The group plans for the stadium to host matches for a prospective NWSL team and an MLS Next Pro men's team, as well as local college and high school sporting events, concerts and festivals. Cleveland was already awarded an MLS Next Pro club three years ago that is scheduled to begin play in 2025.
CSG called the 12,500-seat stadium proposal a "cornerstone" of the bid for NWSL expansion, which it says is reaching a "critical juncture" as the NWSL is set to close the bidding on a 16th team within the next month.
"Two years ago, we made it to the final four of 82 groups nationwide that expressed interest," he said. "That experience clearly communicated that without a viable, soccer-centric stadium plan, there is no opportunity for top-tier professional soccer in Cleveland. Over the past two years, we've engaged in dozens of discussions with our elected officials. It's imperative we swiftly finalize a comprehensive stadium plan. The window of opportunity for Cleveland to win a team is narrowing."
Cleveland Soccer Group releases renderings of proposed NWSL stadium
The bid comes amid an unprecedented wave of interest and investment in the NWSL and women's sports in the U.S. in general. According to CSG, average NWSL match attendance grew 32% year-over-year to 10,400 fans in the 2023 season, while average attendance for the ongoing 2024 season is pacing to increase another 12% from last year at around 11,600 fans per game. A new television rights deal negotiated ahead of this season has dramatically increased the league's media revenue.
Team valuations are also skyrocketing in the NWSL. The owners of Bay FC in California's San Francisco Bay area, which entered the league this year, paid a record $53 million expansion fee. Seattle Reign FC, which was acquired in 2019 for around $3.5 million, recently sold to a consortium including Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders for $58 million.
"As a family we have watched girl's and women's soccer grow by leaps and bounds at the development and professional levels over the last dozen years," said Robyn Minter Smyers, a Cleveland corporate and real estate lawyer who is involved with the bid. "The momentum for the sport is unmistakable with fans in the region and around the world and with corporate partners interested in supporting a new generation of athletes."
CSG posits its stadium project, which would cost around $150 million if approved and built, would generate $4.1 billion in economic impact in its first 30 years in operation. The group is planning a private investment of $60 million for the stadium as well as funding for a training facility for the NWSL and MLS Next Pro teams. Its planned private investment would total $193 million, or roughly 68% of the entire venture (the group has not publicly shared details on its engaged private stakeholders).
The group is proposing for the $90 million remaining balance to be funded by a "four-party agreement" involving CSG's investors, the Cleveland city government, Cuyahoga County, and the Ohio state government. CSG's proposal calls for funds to be sourced through admissions taxes and public revenue bonds, with no new or increased taxes for residents.
As our partners at Cleveland.com report, CSG does face some competition when it comes to seeking public funds for a sports stadium project. Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam are in the midst of pitching county and state leaders on either a renovation of the team's current lakefront stadium or a new domed stadium Brook Park that would see each government contribute a record $600 million. Additionally, the "sin tax" that provides funding for Progressive Field and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse appears set to deplete well ahead of the intended date of 2034.
CSG points out two things that the group hopes will help separate itself from the crowded field of prospective borrowers. For starters, the NWSL's firm and fast-approaching bidding deadline creates a sense of urgency that the other teams do not currently share. Perhaps more importantly, there is a gender equity angle: Whereas Ohio's men's professional sports teams have received $2 billion in public funding for facilities over the past 30 years, women's sports have received a grand total of zero.
"We are cognizant of numerous needs around the region, but this project highlights support for women's athletics, will deliver considerable [return on investment] for the entire region and fulfill the promise of South Gateway," Murphy said.
The organizers of Cleveland's NWSL bid believe that the city is poised to take advantage a seismic shift in the American women's sports landscape. It points to the city's recent hosting of the NCAA Women's Final Four basketball championships, which generated considerable buzz in addition to an estimated $25 million in economic impact over one weekend. It also says 13,000 people — more than would fit in the group's proposed stadium — pledged to buy season tickets during its Back the Bid campaign last October.
"As we have already seen, during the RNC, NBA finals, NCAA Women's Final Four, when the national spotlight is on us, we rise to the occasion," said David Gilbert, CEO of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission. "By bringing women's soccer to Cleveland, we're not just investing in a game. We're investing in a future. Our track record of leveraging sports infrastructure for economic growth speaks volumes, and this can build on that momentum."
You can see an animated rendering of a walk through CSG's proposed South Gateway Stadium in the video player below.
