With interest in professional soccer on the rise across the U.S., Major League Soccer has ambitiously expanded from its original 10 teams to 23 franchises, with plans to grow to 28. Many teams previously shared stadiums with football teams, but the league's growth has led franchises and cities to invest in soccer-specific stadiums.
The 15th soccer-specialized MLS stadium opened in Orlando, Florida, last year, and several more are in the works, with some even being built for the lower United Soccer League. From D.C. to Los Angeles to Miami, here are nine professional soccer stadiums in the works around the country.
Club: D.C. United Size: 20,000 seats Cost: $300M Status:
Under construction, expected to deliver this summer D.C. United plans to play its first game at Audi Field July 14. Many of United's home games were pushed to the latter half of the year to accommodate for the mid-summer opening, but it will play at least four home matches at alternate venues.
The 20,000-seat stadium will be part of a mixed-use complex with a 14K SF retail corridor and a 40K SF public plaza. It is being constructed on Southwest D.C.'s Buzzard Point, a largely undeveloped peninsula that the city hopes Audi Field will help revitalize. It sits about five blocks from Nationals Park, which sparked a transformation of the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood after its 2008 opening. The ballpark will host the Major League Baseball All-Star Game three days after United's inaugural match.
Several developers, such as Akridge, MRP Realty, Capital City Real Estate and Kouza Cos., have projects in the works for Buzzard Point that will bring hundreds of multifamily units and a 154-room Cambria Hotel to the area, which was also included in one of the District's Amazon HQ2 submissions.
Club: Columbus Crew Size: 20,000 seats Cost: $200M Status: Still in early planning stages
The owners of the Columbus Crew have been trying to move the team to Austin, and have proposed a new stadium to be built in the Texas capital. Proposals from the owner, Precourt Sports Ventures, have called for a privately financed $200M, 20,000-seat stadium. The plan is not yet finalized, and some city officials have expressed reservations about building the stadium on public land. Austin is currently the largest U.S. city without a major league sports franchise. Local company Austin Sports & Entertainment has thrown its support behind the idea, commissioning famed architect Bjarke Ingels Group to design a soccer stadium and surrounding East Austin District entertainment destination.
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