Detroit — Construction has begun on a new 15,000-seat stadium that will be the future home for the Detroit City Football Club, a pro soccer organization with a fervid fan base, starting in the spring of 2028.
Mayor Mary Sheffield joined several hundred officials and fans Wednesday afternoon for the ceremonial groundbreaking of the future AlumniFi Field in southwest Detroit, at the corner of Michigan Avenue and 20th Street. Beyond the new stadium, DCFC plans to develop several blocks around the stadium with a 421-space parking structure and 76-unit apartment building in what is now a forlorn stretch between the popular Corktown and Mexicantown neighborhoods.
The developments are expected to generate $25 million in annual economic impact for the area. Last fall, the city approved a $2 million “community benefits agreement” and a tax subsidy that will allow the soccer club’s estimated $198 million plan to continue.
“For a very, very long time, we know that this property actually sat vacant, and it served as a reminder of what once was,” Sheffield said, referring to the former Southwest Detroit Hospital, which sat vacant and blighted for year before being razed this year to make way for the future stadium.
“Today, we break ground on what it will become,” Sheffield said. “And that is a vibrant community asset that will create jobs. It will generate investment. It will provide affordable housing, and bring thousands of people together for generations to come.”
It’s also one of three new pro sports teams coming to Detroit, she said. Later this year, Detroit’s own team for the Professional Women’s Hockey League will begin its first season, and in 2029, the city is getting a Women’s National Basketball Association team.
The Detroit City FC current plays at Hamtramck’s Keyworth Stadium, an 8,000-seat venue. The club has a men’s team in the USL Championship, a women’s team in the USL W League, and a statewide youth club network of more than 5,000 players. The club also operates an indoor soccer facility in downtown Detroit.
Detroit City FC co-founder and CEO Sean Mann said the start of construction marks an “important inflection point” for the club that began in 2012. The blighted hospital grounds had been an issue for years. Last summer, a Shelby Township man plunged to his death after he trespassed into the building and fell through a “massive” hole in the floor and dropped two floors, according to police and medical reports obtained by The Detroit News.
“Today is . . . where we start building something positive,” Mann said, who lives in southwest Detroit. “As one of my neighbors told me, it’s time to have good memories at this site, and that’s what today is about; starting to build something that’s going to be here for generations to come that brings positivity.”
John Sarge, 72, was among the 2,700 fans who bought shares into the club when it was financially struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fans like Sarge helped the club raised $1.48 million and own about 10% equity of the team.
“The atmosphere, the team owners, it really does have a community feel about it,” Sarge said. “It’s going through a lot of changes, getting more investors, but I do believe it has to change to survive.”
laguilar@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Construction begins on new Detroit City Football Club stadium in SW Detroit
Reporting by Louis Aguilar, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Louis Aguilar, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
