Cleveland Metroparks trailblazing venue plans

Image: Cleveland Soccer Group

The Cleveland Metroparks leaders recently announced they’ve agreed to a $4.2 million deal to buy nearly 14 acres of State-owned land near Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio (US) to help plans to build a new women’s soccer stadium there.

‘cleveland.com’ stated that the Metroparks Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of the land from the Ohio Department of Transportation pending the usual site review process and other due-diligence efforts. The $4.2 million will be paid by the backers of a proposed National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team in Cleveland.

The Cleveland Metroparks is an extensive system of nature preserves in Greater Cleveland, Ohio (US). Eighteen (18) reservations, which largely encircle the City of Cleveland, follow along the shore of Lake Erie and the rivers and creeks that flow through the region. Referred to unofficially as the ‘Emerald Necklace’, the network of parks spans over 25,000 acres (10,000 ha) and includes over 300 miles (480 km) of walking, bicycle and horse trails as well as numerous picnic areas, nature education centers, golf courses, and countless fishing spots. In addition, the district includes the zoo in Cleveland.

The 34,830-capacity Progressive Field is a baseball stadium in the downtown area of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is the home ballpark of the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB).

The Metroparks Board of Commissioners is a group of citizens who govern a park district and are responsible for formulating the policies and managing the natural resources of a park system.

The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women’s soccer league at the top of the United States league system (alongside the USL Super League). Headquartered in New York City, it is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federation.

Florida (US)-based the USL Super League (USLS) is a professional women’s soccer league and is the highest level of the United States league system alongside the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

Chicago (US)-based the United States Soccer Federation, commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501 nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States.

‘cleveland.com’ further stated that the above sale will only go forward if the development group behind the effort, the Cleveland Soccer Group (CSG), is looking to build a $150 million stadium on the land if the league approves the expansion team – a decision that’s expected sometime in the next couple of months, the CSG spokeswoman Gina Kelly stated.

The Cleveland Soccer Group (CSG), also known as the Cleveland Pro Soccer, is the ownership group Co-Founded by Michael Murphy and Nolan Gallagher and is based in Cleveland, Ohio. The group owns an independent men’s professional soccer team that plans to participate in the Major League Soccer (MLS) NEXT Pro. The group is also presenting a bid in 2024 for the 16th expansion team in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

The Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men’s professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation which represents the sport’s highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams – 26 in the United States and 3 in Canada – since the 2023 season. The MLS is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.

The MLS Next Pro (MLSNP) is a men’s professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with the Major League Soccer (MLS). It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of the MLS clubs and two independent clubs. The MLS Next Pro is classified as part of the third tier of the United States soccer league system.

If that happens, the Cleveland Metroparks would then lease the land to a CSG-related entity to build and operate the stadium, according to the Metroparks spokesman Jeffrey Tolman. The land sale would be canceled if the NWSL doesn’t award Cleveland an expansion team, Tolman stated in an email.

The project’s developers – which include the Cleveland natives Michael Murphy and Nolan Gallagher, who sold their film distribution company for $73 million in 2021 – are asking the City, the county and the State Governments to cover $90 million of the $150 million. The CSG is also looking to purchase the entire campus of the recently closed Notre Dame College in South Euclid (Ohio) to turn it into a soccer training facility.

If Cleveland is awarded an NWSL team the stadium could be completed as early as 2026, Murphy said in a previous interview. The proposed stadium, which would be able to seat 12,500 people, would be located South of I-90 and just West of the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) tracks – about a five-minute walk from the Progressive Field.

The property, which is currently a gravel lot, is bounded by InterState 90 and railroad tracks to the North and E. 9th Street and Commercial Road to the South.

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), which acquired the property to help build Cleveland’s Innerbelt highway, has already been leasing it to the Cleveland Metroparks which sells parking on the lot for the Major League Baseball (MLB) team Cleveland Guardians and the National Basketball Association (NBA) team Cleveland Cavaliers games, the ODOT spokesman Brett Kovacs said. The land sale doesn’t need further approval by any State Boards or officials, he said.

In addition to covering the $4.2 million purchase price, the CSG is paying for the transaction costs, including a $250,000 deposit in escrow to hold the property during Cleveland Metroparks’ due-diligence period, Kelly stated.

Murphy sent out a statement which read, “Our vision of prioritizing equity and economic impact through women’s professional sports is so complementary to the Metroparks mission. We are thrilled to partner with the Cleveland Metroparks on this transformative project for the region.”

In addition to securing the property to use for a stadium, Kelly and Tolman said the plan is to use it to connect the existing and planned Metroparks trails.

The Metroparks release stated that the site is located near the existing portions of the Slavic Village Downtown Connector Trail, the Towpath Trail and the Cuyahoga Riverfront Trail and other future planned trail connections.

In addition, the release stated, the land “is an ideal site” for “parking, active transportation infrastructure, green space, (and) plazas,” among other amenities.

The Cleveland Metroparks will determine during its planning process exactly how much of the land would be leased to the team for the stadium, according to Tolman. The Cleveland Metroparks, as a Governmental entity, had a “unique opportunity” to buy the land directly from the ODOT that private developers like CSG couldn’t get, Tolman stated.

Brian M. Zimmerman, Cleveland Metroparks head honcho, sent out a statement which read, “The acquisition of this centrally located property near the heart of Cleveland aligns with our ongoing efforts to connect the communities to and around downtown Cleveland through our growing trail network. And we’re excited and hopeful that the CSG and Cleveland will be successful in this tremendous opportunity.”

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