City Beat: City considers soccer stadium at former quarry site

Professional soccer may be coming to the city of Springfield, as City Council considers a joint feasibility study with United Soccer Leagues LLC to establish a stadium.

Council on Dec. 3 gave first reading to an ordinance that would establish a cost-share agreement with United Soccer Leagues to analyze a potential soccer stadium at 1109 E. Trafficway St., an 8.9-acre site that presently serves as the gateway to Jordan Valley Park. The site is located on the east side of Hammons Field, home of the Springfield Cardinals baseball team.

Under the agreement, which will be up for a vote at the Dec. 16 council meeting, the city and USL would each contribute up to $75,000 toward the cost of the study.

The stadium would have 5,000-10,000 seats, according to the proposed agreement, and it would serve as the home stadium for both a professional men’s and women’s soccer team.

The proposed agreement calls for the USL to serve as the anchor tenant of the stadium with the right of first refusal to serve as its operator/manager.

Amanda Ohlensehlen, the city’s director of economic vitality and workforce development, told council at the special meeting that conversations with USL have spanned a couple of years, but a letter of intent was received from the organization late this year.

The agreement between the city and USL would also would provide exclusivity for both parties for the year of the contract and up to two subsequent six-month periods through Dec. 31, 2026. This means that neither party may directly or indirectly field inquiries or proposals from other parties regarding the stadium or site.

In an interview after the meeting, Ohlensehlen said the feasibility study would look at site conditions and include a market analysis.

“We obviously would be very excited to see professional soccer come to town,” she said.

She added that regardless of the outcome of the study, the results of the analysis would be of use to the city.

“If for some reason this particular site is not viable for that use, we can always pivot and have that information available for other opportunities,” she said.

A site analysis would examine geographic features of the property, which was a limestone quarry from approximately 1900 to 1963 and later a landfill for construction and demolition debris. It is also the site where the city buried its diseased Dutch elm trees in the 1960s.

A 2008 Springfield Business Journal article stated that plans for development of the park site had to be put on hold because fill material at the property was settling more quickly than expected, at a rate of 2 feet per year. More settling was anticipated at the time, according to a geotechnical study by engineering firm Palmerton & Parrish Inc. As a result, the park’s conceptual design at the time placed load-bearing parts, like play areas and restrooms, on more stable areas of the property.

Ohlensehlen told SBJ the stability of the site will be a focus of the feasibility study.

“It was expected back in 2008 with uncompacted fill that it would settle at a much faster rate, which will slow with the passage of time,” she said. “More recent geotechnical analysis generally indicates that conditions could be favorable for this to be a buildable site.”

She added that future studies will help to determine what, if any, settling is occurring and will make recommendations for how to address site conditions.

Councilmember Matthew Simpson said in an interview that a soccer stadium is a great opportunity for the city.

“If we look next door to this property at the site of Hammons Field, we can see how sports bring the community together,” he said. “We see families there making memories and getting to see professional athletes play in our own city.”

Simpson said while a soccer stadium would be first and foremost a resource for city residents, it also would serve as a draw to the city by tourists, bringing in tax revenue from visitors who dine, shop and lodge in Springfield.

“All of us living here would benefit from that,” he said. “The more we can do to make Springfield a place people want to spend time in, the more people we’re going to have spending their time and money here.”

Another professional sports team can be seen as an indication that Springfield is a city that is poised for growth, Simpson said.

“We’re on the transitional edge,” he said. “Obviously, when you’re on the edge, you can move in either direction, so taking advantage of opportunities like this is vital.”

According to its website, USL was founded in 1986 and includes eight different leagues. Among these is its United Soccer League, which the organization describes as the largest and fastest-growing pre-professional and professional soccer organization in the country.

Additionally, the organization’s USL Championship League is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation as a Division II league. It reaches a population of 84 million, and the USL Super League, a Division 1 professional women’s soccer league, debuted in August of this year with eight clubs.

Under the proposed agreement, the men’s team would compete in the second tier of the USL’s competition structure, known as USL League One, and the women’s team would compete in the second tier of the USL women’s professional structure.

During the meeting, Mayor Ken McClure described the league as being the next tier below Major League Soccer.

In an interview after the meeting, McClure said the possibility of professional soccer continues Springfield’s growth as a major sports market, with the Cardinals representing Minor League Baseball, the Ozarks Lunkers representing Arena League Football, Division I football at Missouri State University and more.

“It’s a natural progression, and soccer is very, very popular,” he said.

John Markey, executive director of Lake Country Soccer, agreed that there is strong local interest in the sport, noting Lake Country hosts about 3,000 youth in fall and spring leagues, with 220 teams playing indoors in the winter.

“The feasibility study will show a lot, but from our standpoint, any soccer they bring here is a plus,” he said. “The time’s right, with the World Cup coming to Kansas City and the United States.”

He confirmed that USL has been interested in Springfield for a number of years, and even looked at Lake Country fields for possible use.

Markey added that the proposal is very much in its preliminary stages.

“A lot of people think a pro team’s coming – not yet,” he said. “They just want to have an opportunity to see if it’s feasible here.”