A soccer stadium located on the south side of Downtown Cleveland could accommodate not only two professional teams but also college and high school games. The end result is that it could make up for as much as half the loss of visits to downtown as generated by the Cleveland Browns (CSG). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Officials hush rumors on Cleveland’s NWSL chances
The rumor mill of Cleveland sports is always turning. And lately it’s been turning out rumors that Cleveland has won the 16th franchise of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). Others are dropping hints of this possibility while at the same time managing expectations.
Among those managing expectations is the guy in charge of it all, Cleveland Soccer Group (CSG) LLC Co-Founder and CEO Michael Murphy. An increasingly circulated rumor is that the NWSL will announce the winner of its 16th franchise next month during the league’s playoffs. Other rumors are that the winner will be Cleveland. To that, Murphy called a timeout.
“The league has not announced a decision and the process is ongoing,” Murphy told NEOtrans.
While that is true, the rumors started swirling last week and were not calmed by the CSG putting out an Instagram post Oct. 10 showing their new promotional signs near Progressive Field downtown. The photo was posted the day after NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman visited Cleveland. The posting was accompanied by a simple message “It’s a really beautiful day in Downtown Cleveland.”
Site plan for the proposed Gateway South soccer stadium with parking already nearby and a planned station on the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s rapid transit system (Cleveland Metroparks).
If Cleveland does win the 16th NWSL franchise, the team could start play in the spring of 2026 at a temporary location until a planned new stadium on the south side of downtown is built. That prospect has many people excited, including those who can help make it happen.
“Stay tuned,” said Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne in a phone interview with NEOtrans. “It would be exciting to have professional soccer here. I don’t think it’s a question of if, it’s a matter of when.”
The potential for soccer’s arrival downtown comes as the Cleveland Browns announced their departure from downtown for a new stadium in suburban Brook Park, following the 2028 football season. The loss of more than 600,000 football fans visiting downtown each season could result in the loss of $30 million in economic benefits to the urban core, said Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb.
No one is anticipating that the arrival of an NWSL franchise would compensate for that loss, but it might help soften the blow. NWSL teams boast growing attendance which now averages nearly 11,500 per game, or just shy of 150,000 fans among 13 home games total per team. But that’s just a piece of the puzzle.
Cleveland Pro Soccer, an affiliate of the Cleveland Soccer Group LLC, shared this social media post Oct. 10, the day after the commissioner of the National Women’s Soccer League visited Cleveland (Instagram).
Although Ronayne was referring to the NWSL, Cleveland has already landed a professional soccer franchise — a Major League Soccer developmental team in the MLS NEXT Pro league. The team could start play as early as next year but at a temporary field. Average per-game attendance for MLS NEXT Pro is about 5,000. Over a 14-game home season, that’s 70,000 fanes.
Between those two pro soccer teams, a downtown soccer stadium could see more than 200,000 visitors per year. College and high school teams could play at a new soccer stadium, too. But Cleveland State University men’s and women’s teams plus St. Ignatius High School’s nationally top-ranked soccer program typically attract crowds only in the hundreds per game.
The county and state were asked to help fund a proposed 12,500-seat soccer stadium in Downtown Cleveland, across Interstate 90 from Progressive Field, home of the Major League Baseball Cleveland Guardians. CSG requested $90 million in public-sector financing to help support construction of the $150 million stadium.
Last month, the Cleveland Metroparks reached a purchase agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to acquire 13.6 acres of ODOT land for $4.25 million. The site, next to I-90, would be for the soccer stadium and the Metroparks’ Trailhead Project, a public space where several all-purpose trails would link up.
Interior of the proposed 12,500-seat soccer stadium, looking north towards Downtown Cleveland (CSG).
While the deed would transfer to the Metroparks, CSG will be the one paying for the property along with transaction costs that include a $250,000 deposit in escrow to hold the property during the due-diligence period. Having site control over the future stadium location has apparently bolstered Cleveland’s chances of landing the NWSL franchise, according to the New York Times.
There is significant private-sector financial backing behind Cleveland’s NWSL bid. Fifteen Northeast Ohio women investors joined the effort in August along with undisclosed, well-heeled private equity support. There’s going to have to be, considering the NWSL franchise fee has risen from $2–5 million in 2020 to $53 million which Boston paid last year for the most recent franchise addition.
Other stadium features have progressed. A new station is proposed to be added to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s rail system to serve the new soccer stadium and supportive development. The station would be on a section where all three train routes — Red, Blue and Green lines — funnel into downtown from the East Side. General Manager and CEO India Birdsong Terry wrote to CSG’s Murphy on Aug. 6 to assist the project.
“This section of our rail system can accommodate the addition of a new rail station at this location to serve the proposed stadium,” she wrote. “GCRTA will work with your group, the city of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County and the state of Ohio to include a new transit station in your proposed stadium development and help facilitate the transit station’s construction. We are excited about your effort to bring professional women’s soccer to Cleveland and will continue to work with your team to make it a reality.”
The proposed $150 million soccer stadium would be located between Interstate 90, at right, the Cuyahoga River at top, and the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s funnel for three rail rapid transit lines into Downtown Cleveland. A station on those tracks, shown at bottom, is proposed (CSG).
In June, the Ohio General Assembly allocated $1 million for the “Cleveland Women’s Soccer Stadium” from the state’s two-year capital budget, calling it a “One-Time Strategic Community Investment.” Ohio State Senator Kent Smith, D-21 of Euclid, met with NWSL’s Berman during her Oct. 9 visit to Cleveland.
“She witnessed a very strong cross-section of supportive stakeholders,” Smith said. “She responded positively although Cleveland’s not the only one trying to get an NWSL franchise. I gave her a strong pitch of why we would be supportive, in short because people care about Cleveland. People write songs about Cleveland. And I’m all about making sure that girls have heroes who are in every section of the newspaper — business, sports, government.”
For his side gig, Smith has been an announcer since 2008 for women’s roller derby bouts at the Cleveland Heights Recreation Pavilion at Mayfield Road and Monticello Boulevard. His district also includes the recently closed Notre Dame College on South Green Road in South Euclid that could figure strongly into Cleveland’s NWSL bid. The 14-building, 48-acre campus is for sale. No price is listed but is valued at $30.7 million by the county for tax purposes.
That campus has been under active consideration by CSG for a soccer training complex, even before its availability became public. So far, CSG is the only suitor that has submitted a purchase offer on the campus, said Mike Love, economic development director for the city of South Euclid. And it could be an international soccer training complex, not just for the NSWL or even a Cleveland soccer team.
Notre Dame College in suburban South Euclid has a 48-acre campus with 14 buildings, including five dormitories, athletic center, former high school and a century-old English Tudor main building that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places (LoopNet).
“The league is very interested in the site,” Love said. “We’re in a holding pattern until we hear from the league. But it’s a very realistic possibility. They (CSG) have put in a full (purchase) offer that’s within range of what the remaining Notre Dame board members would be willing to entertain.”
Love said he has also heard that the NWSL’s 16th franchise will be named in early November, a timeline that apparently was pushed back from this month. He said he is optimistic about Cleveland’s chances of winning it and repurposing Notre Dame College.
“We were sad to see the school close, but we’re really excited to see this next chapter for the campus,” Love said.
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