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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowDemocrats on the Indianapolis City-County Council say they have lingering questions about Mayor Joe Hogsett’s decision to pursue a Major League Soccer franchise—a plan that puts a long-planned soccer stadium on the east side of the White River in jeopardy.
As part of a lengthy statement sent to IBJ on Tuesday, the Democratic caucus wrote that it “has more questions than answers on the proposal,” but expects that the Hogsett administration will provide answers in coming weeks.
Democrats occupy 19 of the 25 seats on the City-County Council.
“Pursuing a Major League Soccer team could strengthen our city’s reputation, enhance tourism, and boost our economy,” the statement said. “Currently, we believe there is more work to do to understand the repercussions of this strategy.”
Hogsett, a Democrat, announced Thursday that his administration plans to pursue an MLS expansion team, which includes establishing a professional sports development area, or PSDA, that could be used to locate a stadium at the site of the Downtown Heliport.
The proposed PSDA would need to be approved by the council and the city’s Metropolitan Development Commission by June 30 in order to comply with the 2019 law that created the tax district framework.
In a statement, Hogsett administration spokeswoman Aliya Wishner told IBJ, “We appreciate the Council’s openness to this exciting prospect and look forward to addressing all their questions, as we believe collaboration with the Council will set us on a course to enhance our representation as a major league city while improving neighborhoods that deserve our focus.”
The statement on behalf of the Democratic caucus was sent out by Denise Herd, an independent communications strategist who works for council Majority Leader Maggie Lewis.
The proposed 20,000-seat soccer-specific stadium and mixed-use space from the Indy Eleven and developer Keystone Group in District 18, represented by Councilor Kristin Jones, “was on the brink of enhancing our city’s skyline,” the statement said.
“After 10 years of investment, advocacy, and public input, we recently learned that these plans may not be realized,” it continued.
The council will be the next legislative body to consider the proposed PSDA if it passes through the Metropolitan Development Commission. The MDC is set to consider the proposed tax district map at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the City-County Building Public Assembly Room.
“As the legislative branch of our city/county government, our responsibility is to make the tough decisions on what proposals are successful and which ones are not in the best interest of our constituents,” the statement said. “Right now, our caucus has more questions than answers about the new stadium proposal. Going forward, we expect that the administration will provide all of the facts of the proposal, so that we can fully consider all merits of this opportunity.”
Councilors had been meeting with Keystone Group officials leading up to the announcement, a person familiar with the situation told IBJ.
IBJ reported Friday that the council’s Republican leader, Brian Mowery, and Democratic Councilor Jones had expressed concerns about the mayor’s plan. The Mayor’s Office said Hogsett administration representatives had discussions with council leadership and individual councilors leading up to the announcement.
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A professional soccer team is just what we need. We ought to go for a Major League Baseball team while we’re at it.
Not enough population base for an MLB excessive schedule.
Also, Indy lacks corporate HQs required to support MLB’s 81 home games.
The sole reason Indy will never get an MLB team is simple. No way will the Cubs, White Sox, Reds or Cardinal owners allow it to happen because of proximity.
Unless the White Sox move here. They want a new stadium. And chances of Chicago building them one is slim now that they will be building a new Bears stadium.
And the corporate HQ thing is no longer an issue. LLY will be a TRILLION dollar company before long. That alone is the equivalent of multiple corporate headquarters.
Having an MLS franchise and professional soccer would be great for the city. If you look at Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, those franchises are attracting all kinds of younger fans, and both are in fantastic stadiums that have hosted more than just MLS matches.
Even though Cincinnati and Columbus are smaller, they seem to have deeper pockets when it come to come projects. Of course their football stadium is only worth about half as much as Lucas Oil and they don’t have professional basketball and the facilities that requires. The Stadium project for soccer does look nice though. That section of downtown could certainly use some attention.
Merge the existing plan for Indy 11 to transition to MLS if we get a team. Just do the right thing. Honor your commitments.
What if it was Keystone and the 11 that were unable to honor their commitments? That seems likely given the economic environment (interest rates and cost increases) and overly ambitious proposal. So the City sought (or was approached with) other options.
From an urban design standpoint, the Indy 11 site would be better for MLS and the city. Plus it connects the new Elanco site to the core of downtown. The helipad site will require a tight squeeze between Washington and the CSX railroad, and CSX ain’t moving out. Plus Maryland has to be realigned. A stadium there would be very imposing on the adjacent environments.
+1 there is absolutely no reason to choose another location for the stadium.
Boss Hogsett ruins everything he touches. I can’t believe Oliver Luck even approached him about this plan to bring MLS to Indy. If I wanted to do something in Marion County, the last person I would involve is Hogsett.
Upon further review and im sure there will be more info to come out on the subject but here’s a few facts. The mayor went to NYC and was giving a checklist of things the city must do to even be considered for MLS expansion. Whatever was said gave the mayor the encouragement needed to make his announcement. The MLS commissioner clearly stated that a USL team can’t be elevated to MLS. So regardless, Keystone Group nor the city can keep Indy Eleven. The other issue is that Keystone docent fit the requirements of an experienced management group of an MLS team. This is another criteria the league requires. Then after the city looked at the numbers, Keystone group would never realistically be able to solely finance a MLS team let alone manage one. So the city felt it had to act as it did for the Pan Am Plaza project. Im not saying the cities approach was or is appropriate but we must remember Indy is joking for position against its peers. I believe the best way to deal with this is to let Keystone Group develop and own the stadium and eleven park. Let outside investors run and manage the team but also allow Keystone Group to buy into the team whatever percentage they can afford. Keystone Group has been pivotol to many major developments around the city and has kept Indy Elven in the city and competitive for 11yrs. There’s a strong passionate fan base here and the city should work with Keystone group to finish Eleven Park. This with outside investors will look good as a joint effort from the league that Indy is serious about bringing MLS here. So much so that everyone is willing to work together to take the city to the next level. Do abandon the Eleven Park project and leave Keystone Group out of million already spent on the project. There’s away to get what everyone wants and it’s a win win for the city overall.
I wish there was an edit button but I meant to say Indy is JOCKEYING for position not joking.
plus I would like to add that the city has mentioned it has outside investors and a management team that’s willing to help bring a MLS team to Indy. This is KEY, BIG pockets and an experienced MLS management team
That’s the other Kevin P, not me.
With a good lawyer, Keystone could long delay (and perhaps kill off) the helipad proposal.
There is a stench in the air like decaying garbage.
Reject this PSDA and put it on Diamond Chain.
Note to editor: the proposed Eleven stadium site is on the EAST side of White River. (Elanco is across the river on the west side.)