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Mayor Hogsett says city is looking to bring an MLS team to Indianapolis

By Joe Schroeder,

11 days ago

INDIANAPOLIS — Indy is now making an effort to bring a Major League Soccer team to the city.

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett held a news conference Thursday to announce that he and city officials are leading an effort to bring an MLS team to the Circle City. The announcement comes after Hogsett had a “productive meeting” this week with MLS Commissioner Don Garber in NYC.

“I am today informing Indianapolis that, as Mayor, I will be leading an effort to file an MLS application and pursue an MLS club,” Hogsett said. “Indianapolis has long been a marquee destination for professional and amateur sports.”

MLS in Indy?

Hogsett announced that the city is now eyeing land at 355 East Pearl Street in downtown Indy for a new stadium site. On Wednesday, the city filed a resolution with the Metropolitan Development Commission to create a “professional sports development area” there.

The resolution, Hogsett said, needs approval by the MDC. A meeting will be held at 1 p.m. next Wednesday, May 1, to further discuss the developments. After this, the resolution will go to the City Council.

Hogsett said that city officials expect the city to be ready to submit its plan to the State by the end of June. The plan will then go back to the MDC for final approval, which must happen by June 30.

City officials said Thursday that the ownership group involved, who they are not naming at this time, will ultimately have the final say on which proposed site is sent to the state.

Such a PSDA would be the second such district downtown, designed to capture tax revenues from surrounding development to pay off public bonds to build a 25,000-seat soccer stadium.

The other site is the former home of Diamond Chain, acquired by Keystone Group, the owner of the Indy 11 soccer club of the USL Championship League, and its principal and CEO Ersal Ozdemir.

City officials said that the announcement of a second potential site was to provide an anticipated ownership group with an alternative option to the Diamond Chain site.

Photos of the proposed site on Pearl Street can be seen below:

‘Opportunity met with action’

According to Hogsett’s office, a city needs two things to woo the MLS for an expansion team:

A soccer-specific stadium that is promoted and financed by the City
A competent ownership group willing to pay the MLS expansion fee

However, there is no guarantee that even if Indy achieves this the MLS will select them as an expansion city. Hogsett acknowledged this Thursday and said it is not a deterrent.

“I am well aware that this new venture presents no guarantee, but every great achievement in our city’s history has begun where opportunity was met with action,” he said. “Our city knows how to navigate the business of sports. And today, we enter our pursuit of the ‘world’s game’.”

Hogsett’s full press conference can be viewed below:

Keystone’s concerns

These new developments come just hours after Indy-based Keystone Group alleged that Hogsett and the City were backing out of plans to develop Eleven Park, a proposed $1 billion stadium and complex for the Indy Eleven soccer team already under construction in downtown.

While Keystone claimed the city was walking back on a “good-faith” deal, the City said Thursday that there was never a deal made with the development group.

Rather, Hogsett’s office said that there was a proposal made between Keystone and Indy Eleven and nothing more. They reiterated that the city is not “walking away” from anything.

City sources involved in the negotiations with Keystone Group told FOX59/CBS4 that despite a groundbreaking to great fanfare last year, the developer’s finances never came together to convince Mayor Hogsett that taxpayers would not be stuck with the bill for the bonds to build the billion dollar project and so a final deal was never struck.

Keystone Group issued a statement prior to Hogsett’s announcement, calling it, “a shocking reversal of Mayor Hogsett’s public support for this project,” and indicating that the city’s “integrity, trust and the expectation that one is true to their word,” was at risk.

While the city has lost faith in the financing of the Diamond Chain site, Keystone Group would still be free to pursue the franchise ownership group if MLS signs off.

The Pearl Street/Heliport location would encompass new development within a one-mile radius of the stadium including the site of the former Marion County Jail and Sheriff’s Office which is due to be torn down later this year.

For more on the developments regarding Eleven Park and Keystone Group, click here .

Reaction

Major League Soccer released the following statement shortly after Hogsett’s announcement:

“ It was exciting to hear Mayor Hogsett’s vision for a new soccer-specific stadium in Indianapolis .”

Indianapolis City-County Councilor Kristin Jones also weighed in on the announcement, saying she is “hopeful” the proposal will eventually be approved.

Nearly one year ago, I stood alongside families from District 18, business and community leaders, and our city and state leadership as we broke ground for Indy Eleven Park. It was a great day filled with hope and opportunity for an underutilized portion of downtown on the White River. Knowing that the vision of a mixed-use space and a 20,000-seat soccer-specific stadium would be realized after ten years of investment, advocacy, and public input was a dream come true. Today, while on the one hand, I am pleased that Indianapolis remains a strong market for professional sports, I am disappointed that the decision was made to disregard the hard work, investment, and legislation that my council colleagues and state legislators had already passed in a bi-partisan manner for the former Diamond Chain site on the river. I am hopeful that the original approved site will continue to be utilized for any soccer-specific stadium.
Kristin Jones

What the governor is saying

When asked about Mayor Hogsett’s surprise announcement he is pursuing a Major League Soccer team, Gov. Eric Holcomb shied away from answering whether or not he knew what was happening before the announcement.

”I’ve been in conversations, yes,” Holcomb said, adding he has not talked to Hogsett since the announcement.

Holcomb said the idea of adding an MLS team to Indianapolis is exciting, saying nothing has a further reach than soccer.

”A lot of excitement is swirling around the possibility of MLS coming to our capital city,” Holcomb said. “I couldn’t be more excited that one day that will happen, but until then I’ll leave it to the folks to negotiate the deal.”

If a deal is reached, Holcomb said the State Legislature will be ready.

”I assure you there is a lot of excitement in the general assembly,” Holcomb said. “I’ve talked to leaders already and we anticipate good things to come, but it will require the folks who are responsible for and paid to negotiate to do just that.”

Fans’ reaction

For the loyal fans of the Indy Eleven, the sudden change has come as a shock.

”When the mayor said last night he was going to bring the world’s game to Indiana, we were all confused because for the last 11 years, we already have that,” said David Ziemba, the president of the Brickyard Battalion.

Ziemba said the membership of BYB is extremely hurt. The fans have been looking forward to Eleven Park and all it would mean for their team. A potential MLS team coming to town also worries fans about the future of Indy Eleven.

Ziemba said they’ve noticed a trend in recent MLS expansion cities of St. Louis and San Diego.

”The USL basically dies, everything that was built around the USL team, the supporter groups, the culture, that goes away for MLS to come into town,” Ziemba said.

Ziemba said they want to be at the table when it comes to the future of soccer in the Circle City, but so far, they haven’t gotten that invitation.

”We would love to be a part of whatever dream he has going forward, and again, we can be a source of support for that like we have been the last 13 years,” Ziemba said. “Or not, and that’s really his choice.”