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How big of a challenge will it be for Indianapolis to get a Major League Soccer team? Here’s a look at the league and the road ahead.
Why is this suddenly a question?
Mayor Joe Hogsett said Thursday that he had a “productive meeting” this week with the commissioner of MLS. He announced at the same time that the city was working with a prospective ownership group that would submit the application for a team. He did not reveal the identities of the prospective investors.
The team likely would need a new stadium in which to play. Hogsett identified two potential sites: the former Diamond Chain manufacturing site on the southwest side of downtown where Indianapolis-based Keystone Group, owned by Indy Eleven majority owner Ersal Ozdemir, has been planning the $1.5 billion Eleven Park stadium district; and at the site of the Downtown Heliport on the east side of downtown.
Hogsett said the city plans to work with the prospective ownership group to develop the stadium.
What is Major League Soccer and how big are its stadiums?
MLS is the highest level of men’s professional soccer in North America, with 29 teams in the United States and Canada. The league’s 30th team will begin play next year in San Diego.
The league has tripled in size since it launched in 1996 with 10 teams that mostly played in college and professional football stadiums. Now, most clubs throughout MLS play in soccer-specific stadiums that range in capacity from 18,000 to 30,000.
A handful of clubs—Atlanta United, Chicago Fire, Charlotte FC and Seattle Sounders FC—still play in National Football League stadiums, while New York City FC plays at Yankee Stadium, home of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees.
San Diego FC will play games at Snapdragon Stadium on the campus of San Diego State University. The 35,000-seat stadium is home to San Diego State’s football team and the National Women’s Soccer League’s San Diego Wave.
Comparatively, only nine of the 24 stadiums in the second-division USL Championship, in which the Indy Eleven play, have capacities larger than 10,000. Indy Eleven’s home field, Michael A. Carroll Track and Soccer Stadium, holds 10,524 fans.
Last year, Indy Eleven had an average attendance of 9,709 fans per game, which ranked third in USL Championship.
Will MLS expand?
Unlike many soccer organizations around the world, there is not a system of promotion and relegation in North America where teams can move up and down between leagues based on their performance.
For example, Indy Eleven could never move from the second-division USL Championship to MLS simply by having a successful season.
This means the only way Indianapolis can get an MLS team is by an ownership group submitting an application to the league for an expansion team or through franchise relocation.
Indy Eleven’s owners applied to the MLS in 2017 but were unsuccessful.
MLS has not announced plans for a 31st team. With 30 teams, the league has the same number of teams as Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association. The National Football League has 32 teams.
MLS has expanded several times in recent years with nine new teams joining the league since 2017. Both Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC began play in 2020. Teams in Austin, Texas (2021); Charlotte, North Carolina (2022); and St. Louis (2023) followed.
A potential stumbling block for Indianapolis getting an expansion team is the number of teams within 250 miles of central Indiana. Chicago and Columbus, Ohio, have had teams since the league launched 28 years ago. And three other regional cities—Cincinnati, Nashville and St. Louis—have received expansion teams in recent years.
MLS has not announced plans for a 31st team, and it issued a statement after Hogsett’s announcement saying, “It was exciting to hear Mayor Hogsett’s vision for a new soccer-specific stadium in Indianapolis.”
MLS Commissioner Don Garber told ESPN last year that the league never says never to anything, but he would not commit to future expansion.
“We never thought we’d be at 24, we never thought we’d be at 26,” he said. “[But] I don’t think sitting here today that we have any plan in the near future to go beyond 30 teams. We’ve got a lot of work to do to build the league to sort of capture the opportunity that we all see in front of us in the years to come, particularly through 2026, but who knows what the future looks like after that. Nothing in the immediate future for sure.”
Hogsett said Thursday that any proposed stadium project would be contingent upon the city and the ownership group securing an MLS franchise.
Indianapolis likely will have competition if the MLS does decide to expand.
Las Vegas was a candidate for an MLS team when San Diego received entry into the league, and it could still be interested in getting a team. The Nevada city gained an NFL team in the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020, and MLB’s Oakland Athletics plan to move to Las Vegas in 2028.
What is the MLS expansion team entrance fee?
The cost of entry into the MLS only continues to rise.
According to reports, MLS reached a $500 million agreement last year with the owners of San Diego FC to join the league. The Athletic reported that is $175 million more than Charlotte FC owner David Tepper paid for an MLS franchise in 2019 and 67 times larger than the $7.5 million fee Real Salt Lake paid in 2005.
The majority owner of San Diego FC, Mohamed Mansour, has an estimated net worth of $3.6 billion, according to Forbes.
Is there anything related to MLS already going on in Indiana?
Since last July, Indy Eleven has operated the Indy Eleven Pro Academy, which provides opportunities for boys and girls teams competing in MLS Next and the Elite Clubs National League. Indy Eleven Pro Academy players train at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield.
And on Wednesday, MLS announced Noblesville as one of eight cities that will receive an MLS Next club in the fall of 2024. MLS Next is the league’s youth development program that has 133 clubs throughout the U.S. and Canada consisting of 590 teams and more than 11,000 players.
Hoosier Premier Academy, a collaboration between Hoosier Futbol Club and Indy Premier SC, will consist of six teams for youth ranging from U13 to U19 when it begins later this year. The club’s main complex will be at 6910 E. 161st St. in Noblesville, with additional facilities at 15600 Carey Road in Westfield and 411 S. Harbour Dr. in Noblesville.
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Cart before the Horse
Remember we built the Hoosier Dome before we had a team…
There is more to this than the “pursuit” announcement.
The heliport site was kept off the playing field several months ago. The funding being provided did not just materialize this week. The city didn’t fly to NYC on a lark to ask a few questions.
There are reasons this could fail. However it’s probably not for the high line reasons being debated now.
If things go well and the 11 site is not viable for whatever reasons, I’d like to see the stadium go up in an area within a couple of miles of downtown in either direction to invigorate areas that could use it. The redeveloping state mental hospital grounds, Willard Park, somewhere south of Fall Creek Blvd…etc etc. Maybe buy out an older neighborhood ‘s 25 acres? An opportunity to build cheaper while revitalizing areas that need it,…..for less. The Pearl Street location is impractical, too congested and not big enough for parking.
It is perfect for the Eleven Park site. They need to work it out. Agreed Pearl is not practical
The way this has been handled by the Hogsett administration puts a damper on the development of soccer in Indy.
Sometimes eggs get broken to make an omelet.
Before we get teary eyed about Indy XI and Keystone.. were they ever going to get an MLS deal? It was not on the radar at all and Keystone had no working political capital. They tried multiple times and were denied funding. They had the cash for a theoretical Eleven Park… maybe. That 1.5B is just a number on a page. An approved city council plan is not a done project. Did they have the firepower for the expansion fee? Is the USL going to exist in 10 years? If the XI got a stadium and stayed does it alter that equation?
I feel for the supporters and the BYB, however any ill will is going to be eclipsed by a viable MLS team by a multiple.
What happens to the Indy Eleven team if we get an
MLS team here? Won’t they compete for ticket sales?
If the choice is watching Indy FC play Miami with higher quality players or the Indy XI play Birmingham… what ticket are you buying?
In or around the 500 Track
Well-written article.
Isn’t the obvious result that Indy builds the MLS-sized stadium, and then the Indy Eleven re-applies to the MLS with the entrance fee and the already-built stadium?
No.