Indianapolis Would Rather Have An MLS Franchise

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There is a proposal for an MLS stadium..

Indianapolis may be a step closer to landing a Major League Soccer franchise while breaking up with another soccer franchise in town, the Indy 11. The Indianapolis City-County Council introduced a proposal that could bring a Major League Soccer franchise to the city.  The plan would set up an additional tax district for a “professional sports development area” near the downtown heliport. The mayor of Indianapolis, wants a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in his town. There is no indication that the MLS, which presently has 30 teams, is looking to expand but if the league wants to add a team, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said his city is ready. But Indianapolis is not yet ready to get a Major League Soccer expansion franchise. It needs a concrete stadium plan.

The Major League Soccer public relations department did put out a statement expressing gratitude to the Indianapolis mayor for thinking of them. “It was exciting to hear Mayor Hogsett’s vision for a new soccer-specific stadium in Indianapolis.” City officials claim “an experienced and well-respected sports executive who has held leadership roles in the MLS and global soccer” is available. There is a local soccer franchise in town called the Indy 11 of the second-tier United Soccer League. The owners of the Indy 11 franchise thought they reached a deal to build a soccer stadium-village with Indianapolis elected officials. The Indy 11 owners thought they had a deal which would create a special tax district surrounding the stadium to help pay off some of the costs of the estimated billion-dollar project. But Hogsett and the city council are no longer in love with the Indy 11 plan and breaking up was not hard to do in this instance. Keystone Group, the developer behind the Indy 11 franchise owners planned Eleven Park, said it was “incredibly disappointed” with the turn of events.

The proposed Indy 11 stadium.

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