Site of the planned new Gateway South soccer stadium, a proposed new Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority light-rail station and other nearby venues. Also shown is the crest and logo of the new men’s soccer team (CSG). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Gateway South stadium sought for 2028
Cleveland Soccer Group (CSG) today unveiled Cleveland Astra, the brand identity for our new professional women’s soccer club. Merchandise is available online today and season ticket deposits are open. Cleveland Astra will kick off in spring 2028, compete in Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) Pro and play in a Downtown Cleveland soccer stadium.
Latin for “stars,” Astra was guided by CSG’s mission to be the North Star of soccer in Northeast Ohio – and further inspired by the soccer talent growing in the region.
“Athletes from Greater Cleveland are playing in NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League), Super League and top-flight leagues across the globe,” said Gina Prodan Kelly, CSG’s chief marketing officer and co-founder of Cleveland Astra. “Our team was created to inspire, embolden and support women to achieve their greatest potential – on or off the pitch.”
Last fall, alone, 13 of the top-25 Division I college soccer teams had women from Northeast Ohio on them. Add to that dozens of elite athletes at Division II and beyond – not to mention thousands of stars at the club, travel and rec levels.
Plus, living legends like Keri Sarver — a former womens’ pro player and US women’s national team U21 player who is the current Internationals Soccer Club director and assistant coach to the Czechia National Team — are developing talent right here, too.
“Cleveland Astra honors all of these women – and the generations to come,” said Prodan Kelly in a written statement.
A graphic that explains the new meaning and design of the crest for Cleveland’s new Women’s Premier Soccer League team (CSG).
Cleveland’s proposed soccer stadium in downtown’s Gateway South district, remains in the running for $19.9 million in funds from the state of Ohio. The $80 million, 10,000-seat soccer stadium is planned for 13.6 acres of land on East 9th Street Extension south of Interstate 90.
Astra and its sister team to the recently announced Forest City Cleveland men’s Major League Soccer Next Pro team are to play at the new stadium. The site is owned by the Ohio Department of Transportation but the Cleveland Metroparks has an option to buy it, funded by CSG.
Astra was born of a yearlong parallel branding process that engaged 3,000-plus fans and was shaped by a clear message: our first women’s pro soccer team needed to create its own mythology.
“What we heard most was that our women’s sports fans didn’t want to be steeped in someone else’s history,” said Prodan Kelly.
Resilience and grittiness didn’t rise to the top during Astra surveys, interviews and focus groups. “One of the most powerful statements I heard during interviews was from a fan who said – ‘I’m tired of needing to bounce back; I just want to have what I need to fly.’ So, we looked up.”
Creative direction for the project was led by a design team with deep ties to Cleveland and robust experience in women’s professional soccer and world-class brands. It includes Alex Kocher, founder of Easy Friday Co., and Mo Fitzgerald, founder of Play Street.
Screenshot from a short video showing the proposed new soccer stadium next to Downtown Cleveland (CSG).
Cleveland Astra arrives at a defining moment for women’s sports. In 2028, the club will be one of three new women’s professional teams to debut across Ohio – two in Cleveland – marking a significant shift in investment, visibility and opportunity in Cleveland.
Astra will be a founding club in WPSL Pro, a new league designed to expand access to the professional game. There are 35,000-plus elite women’s soccer players in the U.S., but only 625 professional roster spots. WPSL Pro helps close that gap, expanding opportunity for players and access for more markets, more communities.
“Cleveland Soccer Group was built on a belief that a sports organization can be more than the sum of its results,” said Michael Murphy, CSG’s CEO & co-founder.
In 2026, the club will host a series of events including a large community watch party for USA vs. Paraguay on June 12, the opening match of the 2026 Men’s World Cup, at North Coast Yard downtown. Cleveland Astra will also be at The Kickout street soccer tournaments and a watch party for the 2026 World Cup Final on July 19.
“We believe soccer brings people together in ways that improve individual outcomes and strengthen entire communities,” said Murphy. “And we’re making strides to do just that.”
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