NEWS RELEASE

Cleveland Metroparks and Cleveland Soccer Group Announce 13.6-Acre Acquisition in City of Cleveland for Proposed Historic Public-Private Partnership for a Women's Soccer Stadium

The stadium will also be the catalyst to development south of the highway, completing the 30 year-old-vision of Gateway

Cleveland — Sept. 19, 2024 — Cleveland Metroparks Board of Park Commissioners today approved the purchase of approximately 13.6 acres of land from the Ohio Department of Transportation in the City of Cleveland to support Cleveland Soccer Group’s (CSG) effort to build a stadium and bring a new National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) expansion team to Northeast Ohio.

Located in downtown Cleveland, across the street from Progressive Field, on undeveloped land, the proposed soccer stadium location is an ideal site for public trails, parking, active transportation infrastructure, green space, plazas, and other associated park amenities. The site is also located near existing portions of the Slavic Village Downtown Connector Trail, Towpath Trail and Cuyahoga Riverfront Trail, and portions of other future planned trail connections.

"Cleveland Metroparks is proud to partner with CSG to help make Cleveland home to the next National Women’s Soccer team," said Cleveland Metroparks CEO Brian M. Zimmerman. "The acquisition of this centrally located property near the heart of Cleveland aligns with our ongoing efforts to connect communities to and around downtown Cleveland through our growing trail network and we’re excited and hopeful that CSG and Cleveland will be successful in this tremendous opportunity."

The stadium would be the first ever public-private partnership for a newly constructed stadium primarily designed for women’s professional sports. The initial design would support a capacity of at least 12,500 fans and be engineered to expand up to 20,000, if needed. The stadium would be the catalyst to development south of highway and would complete the 30 year-old-vision of Gateway. In addition to a new NWSL team, the stadium would also serve as the home for a men’s Major League Soccer NEXT Pro club and host other events including select collegiate and high school sports, concerts, festivals and more.

"Our vision of prioritizing equity and economic impact through women’s professional sports is so complementary to the Metroparks mission," said CSG Co-Founder & CEO, Michael Murphy. "We are thrilled to partner with Cleveland Metroparks on this transformative project for the region."

Cleveland Metroparks’ acquisition of the approximately $4.2 million property is subject to the due diligence and site review and is fully funded by CSG. CSG continues to work with City, County and State officials to finalize the funding plan for the historic public-private partnership. 

See a video for the vision of the new women’s soccer stadium. For images and other assets, see our Media Kit.

For information on the proposed stadium, contact Gina Prodan Kelly at gina@cleveandsoccergroup.com.
 

About Cleveland Soccer Group:

Founded in 2022, the Cleveland Soccer Group (CSG) is committed to bringing professional soccer to Cleveland and using the sport as a vehicle to enrich local communities across the region. CSG will launch a new men’s professional soccer team in Cleveland that will play in MLS Next Pro. CSG is driven to make a difference by investing in the team, infrastructure and the region’s people to foster economic development, civic pride and unite fans of the sport in collaboration with Cleveland leadership and top organizations.  CSG is in competition to be awarded the next National Women’s Soccer League club. The ownership group includes co-founders and native Clevelanders Michael Murphy and Nolan Gallagher. Murphy is also a member of the U.S. Soccer Federation’s Development Council. For more information, visit clevelandprosoccer.com and follow the organization on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook or X.