Sports
Is Indianapolis Back In The Hunt For An MLS Expansion Franchise?
The city said no to another stadium proposal.
What ever happened to Indianapolis’s bid to land a Major League Soccer franchise? Apparently, nothing. In Joly, 2024, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber said San Diego is the end of expansion for the league for a “period of time.” That despite the best efforts of Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett to engineer a deal that would have seen a Major League Soccer franchise in the city and literally kick the United Soccer League’s Indianapolis franchise owners out of a piece of property where the Indy 11 owners wanted to build a new facility. But the bid is on again as Indiana Governor Mike Braun has thrown his support behind the effort to get Indianapolis an MLS expansion franchise.
On June 3rd, 2024, the Indianapolis City-County Council approved a new special taxing district to help fund an MLS stadium project and by doing so withdrew funding for the Indy 11’s franchise ownership to build a soccer stadium in town. The Indy 11 franchise owners thought they reached an agreement to build a soccer stadium-village with Indianapolis elected officials. The Indy 11 owners thought they had an agreement which would create a special tax district surrounding the stadium to help pay off some of the costs of the estimated billion-dollar project. But Indianapolis officials did an about face and expressed concern about the financial viability of the project and then there was the discovery of hundreds of human remains on the site. In late June, The Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission gave final approval for a new, potential Major League Soccer stadium. Then the project went dormant. Garber visited Indianapolis in February but gave no indication that Indianapolis would be considered if Major League Soccer decided to add teams. As of right now, there is no potential owner of an Indianapolis franchise, just an outline for a stadium.
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Indiana Governor Mike Braun