Baltimore MLS Next Pro team stadium sites

Image: Maryland Stadium Authority

The study analyzing two potential sites for a Baltimore (US) Major League Soccer (MLS) Next Pro stadium was made public recently.

‘SPORTSBUSINESSJOURNAL’ stated that the study didn’t make any recommendations but deeply analyzed each site’s suitability for a stadium that’d be home to the D.C. United’s MLS Next Pro club, a United Soccer League (USL – an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system) Super League women’s club and potentially D.C. United’s youth academy program.

The MLS Next Pro (MLSNP) is a men’s professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with the Major League Soccer (MLS). It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of the MLS clubs and two independent clubs. The MLS Next Pro is classified as part of the third tier of the United States soccer league system.

The Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams with 27 in the United States and three (3) in Canada and is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation. The MLS is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The league is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.

The USL Super League is a top-tier professional women’s soccer league in the United States operating under the United Soccer League (USL). It is a new league launched in 2024 and aims to provide more opportunities for women’s soccer in various communities.

‘SPORTSBUSINESSJOURNAL’ further stated that the two sites under consideration are the L-shaped Carroll Park Golf Course – roughly 60 acres in total and located about two miles Southwest of the 71,008-capacity M&T Bank Stadium and Camden Yards (Baltimore, Maryland (US) – and the much smaller 13-acre site in the Baltimore Peninsula development at the former Baltimore Sun Printing Press, a short distance from the Under Armour’s new headquarters and the Patapsco River.

The MLS Next Pro stadium process began in July 2024. The next two critical steps are picking one of the two sites and finalizing the stadium’s funding.

Moody Nolan – the stadium project’s lead architecture firm – provided the design and engineering services and Rider Levett Bucknell provided cost of construction estimating services under contract with Moody Nolan. Pendulum served as the design architect and facility/event space planning consultant.

The MLS team D.C. United paid $225,000 of the study’s $490,000 total cost with the Maryland Department of Commerce, the Maryland Stadium Authority and the City of Baltimore footing the remainder of the bill.

Baltimore (US)-based the Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA) is a State agency established in 1986 by the Maryland General Assembly. Its primary mission is to plan, finance, build, manage, and operate various sports facilities, convention centers, entertainment venues, and other public projects in Maryland. The MSA was initially formed to retain Major League Baseball (MLB) in Baltimore and bring back the National Football League (NFL) to Maryland.

The Carroll site is much larger and has room for onsite parking but the site also carries historical clout from being a gathering place for Baltimore’s Civil Rights movement. The peninsula site is much smaller than the Carroll site but has excellent visibility from I-95 and is located near the heart of the City. The report indicated that the Peninsula site project cost would be an estimated $16M cheaper because less grading work is required and because parking would be offsite (which would need to be figured out) and the Carroll site likely has one entrance and exit for parking which could create pre- and post-game traffic bottlenecks.

The potential total project costs for a stadium/training ground complex at the Carroll Park ranged from $216.6M for a base program of 7,500 seats and a canopy over the venue’s West side to $238.4M for a stadium/training ground with 12,000 seats and canopies on the North and East grandstands. At the Baltimore Peninsula site the base program’s cost was estimated at $188.8M with a range of options between there and the $221.1M that a 12,000-seat stadium with the canopies (plus the training ground) would cost.

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