March 4Mar 4 Here is the architect https://stadiumstructures.com/ If it is the USL Super League then that is on the same level as the NWSL which makes it a number one League in its sport.
March 4Mar 4 4 minutes ago, freethink said: Here is the architect https://stadiumstructures.com/ If it is the USL Super League then that is on the same level as the NWSL which makes it a number one League in its sport. I honestly don't think the majority of the prospective season ticket-buying fans care about the league choice, and many are likely not even aware there are two separate leagues.
March 4Mar 4 I think we are looking at a merger one day. We will see who gets the better TV contract over the next couple years
March 4Mar 4 1 hour ago, Geowizical said: Ahh here we go Trigger warning: the video is pretty thorough in the fly through, but the skyline in the background provides almost no context for the orientation of the stadium because it's not the real skyline lol Video and photos on WKYC: https://www.wkyc.com/article/sports/soccer/cleveland-soccer-group-stadium-downtown-cleveland-2026-south-gateway/95-1efa921e-ee1a-4354-b191-398c38e597c8 Ehhhhhhhhhh. It's okay.
March 4Mar 4 1 hour ago, surfohio said: I honestly don't think the majority of the prospective season ticket-buying fans care about the league choice, and many are likely not even aware there are two separate leagues. I actually tend to agree with this as someone who can't follow what all the leagues are. MLS is the top men's league but it's still lesser than what is in Europe, right? The Monsters get good attendance even though they are minor league. It's not like there is any other way to see high-level soccer in our region. I am not sure how the $50M stadium is being paid, but if we're using public money I would like to see more public usage of it. Can it host college and high school games without degrading the field too much?
March 4Mar 4 The league you're in can determine a lot. How much advertising revenue you get, how many in-game sponsorships, what production quality on tv/streaming can be expected, etc. And it does impact the number of people willing to go to games and the price you can charge for tickets. Also, the quality of the pitch can vary wildly between teams when they aren't the main tenants in their stadiums, and don't have a lot of money to provide a good surface. That affects the ability for the league to draw in top talent. USLS is far from a sure success at this point. If they stick it out through the growing pains, they might succeed, but it's still an unknown at this point. USLS is still very new. They're only halfway through their inaugural season. So you can't expect there to be success immediately. But so far, the average attendance for the NWSL in 2024 is higher than the largest attendance in USLS (11,235 vs. 10,533). The second highest attendance in USLS so far has been about half of that (5,835). When you're averaging 2500 fans at a game, it is tough to feel like it's fully professional even when it officially is. It's tough to be the upstart league trying to come for the top league in any sport.
March 4Mar 4 Sorry, dental surgery put me on hold.... Cleveland soccer stadium to move forward By Ken Prendergast / March 4, 2025 Cleveland Soccer Group (CSG) today announced plans to build a stadium to host men’s and women’s professional soccer games in Cleveland in 2026, with the proposed development of a new 10,000-seat South Gateway Stadium in Downtown Cleveland. This is intended to coincide with a new announcement in the coming weeks regarding Cleveland securing a new women’s pro soccer team. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2025/03/04/cleveland-soccer-stadium-to-move-forward/ "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 4Mar 4 Local News Stories. https://www.news5cleveland.com/sports/cleveland-soccer-group-proposes-50-million-south-gateway-stadium https://www.cleveland19.com/2025/03/04/plans-professional-soccer-is-cleveland-are-not-dead-new-renderings-released/ https://fox8.com/news/professional-soccer-stadium-proposed-for-downtown-cle/
March 5Mar 5 2 hours ago, KJP said: Sorry, dental surgery put me on hold.... Cleveland soccer stadium to move forward By Ken Prendergast / March 4, 2025 Cleveland Soccer Group (CSG) today announced plans to build a stadium to host men’s and women’s professional soccer games in Cleveland in 2026, with the proposed development of a new 10,000-seat South Gateway Stadium in Downtown Cleveland. This is intended to coincide with a new announcement in the coming weeks regarding Cleveland securing a new women’s pro soccer team. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2025/03/04/cleveland-soccer-stadium-to-move-forward/ Practical and common sense design - we like the overhangs to offer partial protection from our crazy weather. Given the details in Ken's article it seems like it at least could break even very quickly with all of the non-soccer community events already expressing interest. Also, with Metroparks involved I hope they can help expedite the future north trail to the Bedrock Riverfront concurrent with the stadium construction so it doesn't fall by the wayside.
March 5Mar 5 Scene Magazine https://www.clevescene.com/news/cleveland-soccer-group-eyes-smaller-50-million-stadium-after-securing-womens-team-46174105
March 7Mar 7 If the Cleveland soccer group is eyeing the USL Superleague, that's a huge mistake IMO. Even though it's listed as D1, it's vastly inferior to NWSL, and it plays on the "euro calendar," meaning fall to spring with a winter break. That's not a great time to be outdoors in Cleveland.
March 7Mar 7 50 minutes ago, JaceTheAce41 said: That's not a great time to be outdoors in Cleveland. As a Cleveland resident, I have to disagree. I play in a few adult sports leagues that run on the same schedule, and let me tell you—Cleveland’s fall and spring offer some pretty amazing days, especially for athletes. PS: Most of the big races in NEO, including the Cleveland Marathon, are held in the spring and fall.
March 7Mar 7 While August and September are okay, how about December and February? The USL-SL plays up to the second week of December, takes the rest of December and January off, then returns Feb. 8. The league isn't drawing well to begin with and I can't see people paying to sit outside in Cleveland to watch any sport in December or February especially for a league that's vastly inferior to the NWSL. I think the Cleveland group's best bet is to purchase an existing NWSL team and move them.
March 8Mar 8 On 3/7/2025 at 8:23 AM, JaceTheAce41 said: While August and September are okay, how about December and February? The USL-SL plays up to the second week of December, takes the rest of December and January off, then returns Feb. 8. The league isn't drawing well to begin with and I can't see people paying to sit outside in Cleveland to watch any sport in December or February especially for a league that's vastly inferior to the NWSL. I think the Cleveland group's best bet is to purchase an existing NWSL team and move them. The league is still new, and really is a a godsend for late-to-the-party teams like Cleveland because the entry cost for NWSL is now astronomical. Right now it’s most important to keep the ball rolling, and the USL allows for that. The NWSL ship has sailed for now. There is speculation USL and NWSL could merge in the future, but regardless it is time to seize the moment. We are at a crucial point for soccer in Cleveland, and this entry to USL and the expandable stadium is the way to progress incrementally.
March 9Mar 9 Lets not forget that it has been almost 20 years since Bart Wolstein was awarded an expansion MSL team but unfortunately passed away that same year. https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2004/05/18/Sports-Industrialists/Wolstein-Passes-Away-At-77-MLS-Bid-Status-Unknown/
March 9Mar 9 6 minutes ago, freethink said: Lets not forget that it has been almost 20 years since Bart Wolstein was awarded an expansion MSL team but unfortunately passed away that same year. https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2004/05/18/Sports-Industrialists/Wolstein-Passes-Away-At-77-MLS-Bid-Status-Unknown/ I am torn, because we lost our main soccer benefactor and MLS is doing great. But I never liked the suburban stadium proposal. And also I root for the Crew, so that would just be weird for me lol.
March 9Mar 9 for perspective good news is its 1/16th the cost of the new queens etihad stadium ($780M, 25k, opens 2027). 🙀 well thats probably on the silly high end, no doubt new 25k capacity msl stadiums aren’t cheap. better to go corner the market for the womens leagues + it will be a nice pairing if the rockers come back to the wnba. 👍
March 9Mar 9 47 minutes ago, mrnyc said: better to go corner the market for the womens leagues + it will be a nice pairing if the rockers come back to the wnba. 👍 I've wondered if Gilbert has had any conversations with the PWHL. The league only has 6 teams right now, all in historically big hockey towns, and attendance has jumped 50% across the league this year. With how much success the Monsters have here, bringing a PWHL team to town at the same time as the Rockers would bring a ton of momentum to women's sports in town. Especially with a new soccer team and stadium not too far behind.
March 9Mar 9 26 minutes ago, PlanCleveland said: I've wondered if Gilbert has had any conversations with the PWHL. The league only has 6 teams right now, all in historically big hockey towns, and attendance has jumped 50% across the league this year. With how much success the Monsters have here, bringing a PWHL team to town at the same time as the Rockers would bring a ton of momentum to women's sports in town. Especially with a new soccer team and stadium not too far behind. I certainly wouldn't mind Cleveland becoming the hub for women's sports in the state
March 9Mar 9 On 3/7/2025 at 11:23 AM, JaceTheAce41 said: While August and September are okay, how about December and February? Not much different than Cincinnati’s? The first couple of weeks in December are usually pretty mild in much of NEO. Edited March 9Mar 9 by Clefan98
March 11Mar 11 On 3/9/2025 at 4:46 PM, Clefan98 said: Not much different than Cincinnati’s? The first couple of weeks in December are usually pretty mild in much of NEO. But what about the whole of February? I'm just saying that it would be a bad investment to get into the USL Superleague. Only one team is averaging above 3,500 fans and the one team that's averaging 4,000 is in North Carolina where the weather is milder. If Cleveland is going to build a 10k seater stadium for women's soccer, it makes more sense to purchase an existing team and relocate them since the Denver group overpaid and messed up the expansion fee. Houston Dash and NC Courage are both teams that have been tossed around fan circles as possible relocation candidates.
March 11Mar 11 12 minutes ago, JaceTheAce41 said: But what about the whole of February? Like I said, it's not much different from Cincinnati’s weather - unless you’re way out east, which the stadium will not be. Not sure why some people act like Cleveland is in the Arctic. It’s early March, and we’re out here in shorts and t-shirts. Let it go already. Edited March 11Mar 11 by Clefan98
March 11Mar 11 30 minutes ago, JaceTheAce41 said: But what about the whole of February? I'm just saying that it would be a bad investment to get into the USL Superleague. Only one team is averaging above 3,500 fans and the one team that's averaging 4,000 is in North Carolina where the weather is milder. If Cleveland is going to build a 10k seater stadium for women's soccer, it makes more sense to purchase an existing team and relocate them since the Denver group overpaid and messed up the expansion fee. Houston Dash and NC Courage are both teams that have been tossed around fan circles as possible relocation candidates. Wouldn’t the increase to the expansion fee just increase the asking price for teams being sold and/or the relocation fee to move a team? I think it’s just going to be expensive to get into the NWSL. I’m torn because I agree with you that February in Ohio is a tough sell and March is hit or miss. I think April/May and late summer/fall would do really well attendance-wise. I don’t know enough about how the soccer landscape works, but would it be possible to start in Super League and try to move to NWSL after showing some success? Didn’t Cincinnati do something like that to get their MLS team? At least if CLE soccer group went that route, they’d come to the negotiating table with an existing stadium, revenue stream, and data pointing to the success of their franchise. And maybe they could even attract more local investors along the way.
March 11Mar 11 My guess is that they are angling for / betting on an eventual USLSL NWSL buyout or merger. I agree with other posters that getting thousands of people to watch a soccer game in Cleveland in February is going to be a tough sell. Never mind that it's women's or minor league soccer, and that women's team doesn't even play in the largest or most well known women's league. The whole thing seems like a tough sell. I wish them the best, this succeeding can only be good for Cleveland, but I still hope public funds are used judiciously. I'm no more interested in the public getting a funding shake down for a soccer stadium than I am a football stadium. The scale is much smaller, and the location is much better, so maybe the math pencils. I'm not opposed to public funds being used to help this out, I just hope due diligence is done, and the city is willing to walk away if it doesn't end up being a good deal for the city and the taxpayers.
March 11Mar 11 9 hours ago, JaceTheAce41 said: But what about the whole of February? I'm just saying that it would be a bad investment to get into the USL Superleague. Respectfully disagree. This is really the only viable option, and I believe it's a good option. The entrance fees for NWSL aren't going down anytime soon, that ship has sailed. Also the USL has resources at its disposal that frankly the NWSL doesn't have - namely a very large organizational structure with developmental teams reaching down to the grass roots level of soccer. This is a good investment. Now a bad investment would be spending hundreds of millions on NWSL and having that not work out (see Cleveland Rockers).
March 12Mar 12 On 3/9/2025 at 2:29 PM, PlanCleveland said: I've wondered if Gilbert has had any conversations with the PWHL. The league only has 6 teams right now, all in historically big hockey towns, and attendance has jumped 50% across the league this year. With how much success the Monsters have here, bringing a PWHL team to town at the same time as the Rockers would bring a ton of momentum to women's sports in town. Especially with a new soccer team and stadium not too far behind. My partner and I went to the New York Sirens vs the Boston Fleet game in Buffalo as part of the PWHL Takeover tour. It was a blast! The atmosphere was like no other. I'd kill to have a team in Cleveland! The Takeover Tour will have a game in Detroit, but nothing for Cleveland unfortunately. Gilberts ownership has the Cleveland Monsters with highest attendance of the AHL at around 10k, a huge "sure thing" push for the WNBA team, and of course the darling Cavs team that is taken the hearts of NBA fans across the country. I'd be blowing up his phone if I were the PWHL. I'd hope the women's soccer leagues are doing the same.
March 19Mar 19 Whoa! Lot of people in the soccer universe owe me a beer! Cleveland mens pro soccer you are on the clock... Sources: After historic USL vote, promotion, relegation in USA to become reality Paul Tenorio In a historic move, United Soccer League (USL) owners voted Tuesday to become the first professional soccer entity in the United States to adopt promotion and relegation, sources with knowledge of the vote told The Athletic. USL owners passed the vote with a supermajority, according to those sources. The USL currently operates two pro leagues: the second-division USL Championship and third-division USL League One. Last month it announced it will launch a new first division, with expectations to begin play in 2028. League owners now will look to introduce promotion and relegation throughout that three-tiered pyramid, with an aim to launch pro-rel along along with the new Division 1 league. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6213452/2025/03/18/usl-promotion-relegation-us-soccer-vote/
March 19Mar 19 I'm really excited about this. I have no idea how it will turn out, or what impact it will have on American Soccer, but I'm really excited to see what happens. I am also excited because it seems like it might provide a more reasonable path for cities like Cleveland to get a team. It might give cities the opportunity to grow teams and fanbases organically over time, and not have to shell out obscene expansion fees before they've even built a team.
March 19Mar 19 31 minutes ago, Dino said: I'm really excited about this. I have no idea how it will turn out, or what impact it will have on American Soccer, but I'm really excited to see what happens. I am also excited because it seems like it might provide a more reasonable path for cities like Cleveland to get a team. It might give cities the opportunity to grow teams and fanbases organically over time, and not have to shell out obscene expansion fees before they've even built a team. I think this is a best case scanario for American soccer, exactly for the reasons you state. I am also intrigued by seeing which smaller fish in the USL will be promoted to play with the larger market teams at the top division. This is something we just have not seen in American sports in like a hundred years! Edited March 19Mar 19 by surfohio I spell bad
April 7Apr 7 In the absence of a better thread.... NE Ohio Soccer HQ, training facility search begins By Ken Prendergast / April 7, 2025 Cleveland Soccer Group (CSG) has issued a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) to municipalities, civic leaders and community development partners to establish a new headquarters and training facilities for two professional soccer teams debuting in 2026 — a men’s team and Ohio’s first women’s professional soccer team that will be announced soon. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2025/04/07/ne-ohio-soccer-hq-training-facility-search-begins/ "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 7Apr 7 With USL announcing a new D1 league and pro/rel, I wonder if the powers that be in Cleveland will go that route other than the MLS next pro route.
April 7Apr 7 1 hour ago, KJP said: In the absence of a better thread.... NE Ohio Soccer HQ, training facility search begins By Ken Prendergast / April 7, 2025 Cleveland Soccer Group (CSG) has issued a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) to municipalities, civic leaders and community development partners to establish a new headquarters and training facilities for two professional soccer teams debuting in 2026 — a men’s team and Ohio’s first women’s professional soccer team that will be announced soon. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2025/04/07/ne-ohio-soccer-hq-training-facility-search-begins/ Does this RFP mean that the Notre Dame College bid has fell thru?
April 7Apr 7 The St. Vincent's site is my suggestion. It is accessible by highway, sits in an area that lacks amenities and this could be a community draw, and is by CSU. Demolishing that area is going to free up A LOT of space that will sit vacant for a while. A second idea is CSU piggybacking on this to build a Cavs/Guardians gateway style development with offices, an indoor facility and outdoor field in the middle that is flanked by a smaller, more modern Wolstein Center. CSU gets a new arena in a way that is more cost effective, has a modern practice facility that replaces their current lackluster option, and it is relatively close to the new stadium.
April 7Apr 7 1 hour ago, simplythis said: Does this RFP mean that the Notre Dame College bid has fell thru? Apparently. Or they're trying to use this to get a better deal. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 7Apr 7 The RFP calls for 40-100 acres!? That's huge! The Browns training facility and all of its parking is about 18 acres. CSU's entire campus is only 85 acres.
April 7Apr 7 CSG had been looking to build its training facility/headquarters on the former Notre Dame College campus in South Euclid and even placed a bid on the property last July as part of the organization’s larger efforts to land an expansion National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team. Still, NDC’s campus “isn’t off the table” as a potential training site, said Gina Kelly, CSG’s chief marketing officer. “It's a great option that we're continuing to consider,” she said. https://www.crainscleveland.com/sports-recreation/cleveland-soccer-group-issues-rfp-training-site
April 7Apr 7 1 hour ago, Dino said: The RFP calls for 40-100 acres!? That's huge! The Browns training facility and all of its parking is about 18 acres. CSU's entire campus is only 85 acres. Putting it into perspective like that, we don't have any site that can accomodate this in the city and if we did would we want to allocate that to a development like this?
April 8Apr 8 The Columbus Crew train at a 15 acre site. The stadium to the right is not included in the 15 acres, but it is the home field for the Crew 2, their MLSNextPro team. At a more reasonable 20 acres, Tri-C has a site at E. 30th that wouldn't be bad for the training facility. It's close to the proposed stadium, close to highways, close to public transit. The building at E. 30th and Community College Blvd. is a rec center. So it might be an easy conversion. Or it could be a tear down and rebuild. It also seems like a good partnership opportunity so the different users don't have to entirely pay for it on their own. Win-Win!
April 8Apr 8 ^If they were located here...how about the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Football Club. Or...Tri-C F.C.? I mean- I'm kinda joking, but it's already growing on me. 🤣
April 8Apr 8 9 minutes ago, Dino said: The Columbus Crew train at a 15 acre site. The stadium to the right is not included in the 15 acres, but it is the home field for the Crew 2, their MLSNextPro team. At a more reasonable 20 acres, Tri-C has a site at E. 30th that wouldn't be bad for the training facility. It's close to the proposed stadium, close to highways, close to public transit. The building at E. 30th and Community College Blvd. is a rec center. So it might be an easy conversion. Or it could be a tear down and rebuild. It also seems like a good partnership opportunity so the different users don't have to entirely pay for it on their own. Win-Win! Okay so if a full fledged MLS team only takes up 15 Acres why are they requesting such a large amount of land? Is there another aspect to this that they haven't mentioned?
April 8Apr 8 38 minutes ago, MyPhoneDead said: Okay so if a full fledged MLS team only takes up 15 Acres why are they requesting such a large amount of land? Is there another aspect to this that they haven't mentioned? Look at the Spire Academy. It's 100 acres at I-90 and SR534 in Geneva -- one hour east of Cleveland. I was just out there last night. Despite being in the middle of nowhere, it's a huge attraction with global reach. They have coaches from Europe living there and teaching soccer, including to my son. BTW, the European coaches love the facilities but hate the location. None of them have cars and would rather be in Cleveland. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 8Apr 8 2 hours ago, Whipjacka said: how about west side of e55, just south of 490 Has it been remediated? Those streets back in there are/were(?) a mess. Also looking at the owners of that property, it seems in 2022 they were trying for a warehouse on the site that was cleared of all the warehouse buildings and crap: Quote Cleveland-based real estate developers Premier Development Partners' and Reserve Ventures' 182,000-square-foot warehouse in Cleveland's North Broadway neighborhood will receive its first hearing on Friday, Oct. 7. But it'd be a pretty decent site with the RTA right across the street and access to R/G/B lines.
April 8Apr 8 2 hours ago, KJP said: Look at the Spire Academy Spire is a phenomenal facility and one-of-a-kind. But they train athletes (and Olympians) in about 8 or 9 different sports and it's also a boarding school. Do you think that's what the RFP by CSG has in mind? If so, that would be a different proposition. I was picturing something more like the Crew Academy. https://www.spireacademy.com/about-us/
April 8Apr 8 I think this area off Rocky River north of the airport would be a decent location: It's about 40 acres, owned by the City of Cleveland, mostly clear of buildings, and adjacent to a park with 6 baseball/softball fields. It could also be expanded to ~100 acres in the future if the airport rental car center moved under the master plan and that land became available.
April 8Apr 8 If the plan is to have facilities for both a men's and women's team maybe they're looking at Real Salt Lake's facilities as an example. It's about 30 acres and has an indoor pitch, multiple outdoor pitches, a small stadium and it also houses an academy that includes a school for youth players.
April 8Apr 8 5 minutes ago, acd said: I think this area off Rocky River north of the airport would be a decent location: It's about 40 acres, owned by the City of Cleveland, mostly clear of buildings, and adjacent to a park with 6 baseball/softball fields. It could also be expanded to ~100 acres in the future if the airport rental car center moved under the master plan and that land became available. Got busy, but meant to send this earlier too. Always wondered why nothing has been placed here ? Can’t be too close to airport because other buildings are closer.
April 8Apr 8 1 hour ago, Dino said: Spire is a phenomenal facility and one-of-a-kind. But they train athletes (and Olympians) in about 8 or 9 different sports and it's also a boarding school. Do you think that's what the RFP by CSG has in mind? If so, that would be a different proposition. I was picturing something more like the Crew Academy. https://www.spireacademy.com/about-us/ They may have room and board in mind, but obviously not for eight or nine different sports. They're also thinking about an air-supported dome, like the Crew has at its old stadium. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 8Apr 8 I was curious about the Highland land around Northfield and Harvard. Blue line could be extended some to reach it.
April 9Apr 9 CSG's Nolan Gallagher home is up for sale. https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/cleveland-soccer-group-co-founders-home-hits-market
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