MILWAUKEE, WI (WSAU) — Developers announced plans for a new 8,000-seat professional soccer stadium and small concert venue as part of a new entertainment district near Marquette University in Milwaukee.
The development will come on an 11-acre swath of land near the Marquette Interchange. Plans currently call for the open-air stadium to be the cornerstone of the development, with a 3,000-seat concert hall and event space in one end zone and hotel development and a small housing/retail complex also adjacent.
Developers also hinted that the stadium will be home to a first or second division club, saying it would be home to the “highest level of professional soccer in Wisconsin.” Though no specifics about the team are known.
Forward Madison FC competes in the United Soccer League’s League One, which is the third level on the US Soccer Federation men’s pyramid behind Major League Soccer and the USL Championship. The National Women’s Soccer League is top-level for women’s soccer, with the upstart USL Super League occupying the second level for that gender when it launches in 2023.
It’s unlikely that Milwaukee will attract an MLS franchise, as the league is deep in negotiations with Las Vegas for their 30th club with no current plans to expand beyond that. Making a USLC or NWSL club the most likely fit.
A franchise announcement could come later this year.
The stadium would also host Marquette University’s soccer and lacrosse programs.
Groundbreaking for the project will come later this year.
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