Indy's flurry of MLS activity suddenly went quiet. What's going on?

Indianapolis Star

6 days ago

In a span of three months last year, the news of Indianapolis pursuing a Major League Soccer team and stadium evolved at warp speed.
After a giddy press conference at the end of April and the rapid Indianapolis City-County Council approval of a special taxing district that would house the hypothetical stadium, Mayor Joe Hogsett said at the end of July that the city would try to submit a formal bid for a team to the MLS commissioner by the end of 2024.
That optimistic deadline came and went with little fanfare. More than a year after the initial announcement, the news has slowed to a trickle. Now 15 months after the hubbub began, Indianapolis remains just about where it started: hopeful, but lacking the specifics or the actual commitments needed to move forward.
"We looked at everything, including the individuals that might be interested in doing it ― it was just something that didn't pencil out financially," Gov. Mike Braun told IndyStar in June, referring to the conversations that have taken place so far this year. "It doesn't mean the discussion is over."
One specific now being ironed out: Just how much a stadium would cost. The Capital Improvement Board, the entity charged with building and managing the city's publicly funded sports venues, is seeking a contractor for an initial stadium design that will provide a more concrete cost estimate than hypothetical numbers that have been discussed thus far.
The economics of nabbing an MLS team have been top of mind for key stakeholders, including Braun, state lawmakers and Hogsett's office. The total cost to build the stadium, expected to be in the hundreds of millions, could influence when and how the bid ultimately comes together, several people involved in the discussions told IndyStar.
"We're a big sports town, I'd love to see it," Braun said. "But if anything, I want to know if it makes sense, that we can afford it, even if we want it."
And then there's the intrigue of an elusive ownership group, who would be expected to put up more than half a billion dollars to join the league and significantly contribute to the new stadium. To date, no individuals have publicly announced interest in fielding a team. But to have a chance of a team by 2028, as Hogsett has stated is a goal, the construction timeline needs to start now.
"The deal points are this circling of mayor's office, Statehouse, governor's office, MLS league, potential ownership group ― those all need to circle and land at the same time," said Andy Mallon, executive director of the Capital Improvement Board. "I'm not trying to dictate how fast the plane landing is… if we're going to build this thing on time and we're going to be able to answer these questions, we gotta start now."
The slowdown reflects the reality: putting together a successful MLS bid was always going to be a complicated and perhaps lengthy dance.
Experts say that in order for Indianapolis to join Major League Soccer, the city needs three big things: a solid ownership group, a soccer-specific stadium and strong fan and corporate support.
"Typically, you want all three. If you have all three, it's a slam dunk " said Patrick Rishe, director of the Sports Business Program at Washington University in St. Louis.
For more than a year now, the soccer stadium's financing plan has been left off the agenda for the State Budget Committee, the committee of state lawmakers and budget writers who will have to approve the city's Professional Sports Development Area since it involves the input of tax dollars that would otherwise flow to the state. The committee chair, Republican Sen. Ryan Mishler of Mishawaka, told IndyStar through a spokesperson that he does not expect to put the PSDA on the next agenda in August.The Indiana Finance Authority is also expected to release a important feasibility study at some point but it's not clear when that will happen.
While the mayor expressed his "unwavering" commitment and confidence that the Circle City will one day see the highest level of American soccer, he said he agreed it had to make economic sense, signaling the financing details are at the center of talks behind closed doors.
"We are in alignment with Governor Braun that if MLS does come to Indianapolis and a soccer-specific stadium needs to be built, that it must make economic sense for all involved," Hogsett spokesperson Aliya Wishner said in a statement to IndyStar.
One of the larger financial setbacks came during the 2025 legislative session when lawmakers declined to introduce budget language that would direct more tax revenue to the stadium after revenue projections came in $2 billion short. Multiple people involved in the discussions told IndyStar it had become clear that the current PSDA statute, originally conceived with a minor league soccer stadium in mind, would not generate enough tax revenue to make a major league stadium financially feasible.
While the CIB tries to nail down a price tag for the stadium by early next year, that's not the only domino that needs to fall before Indianapolis can officially submit a bid for a team. Lawmakers have previously indicated they want to see an owner step forward before voting, a move Hogsett has promised.
In other words, it's not like the deal-makers will necessarily have all they need once the cost estimate is done, Mallon said.
"It's not like they're waiting on this and then they're going to like run," Mallon said. "It's a necessary thing to know, and the more you know, the better the chances are that you can put something together."
MLS franchises: These MLS teams changed local businesses, housing, even culture. Would it happen in Indy?
An in-person February meeting between MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Braun revealed that the state was involved and interested in helping the bid find footing.
Multiple people involved in conversations surrounding MLS said their understanding is that MLS is not in a rush but is very serious and interested in giving Indianapolis the green light if the movers and shakers here can get a deal together.
Other important requirements for an MLS team remain up in the air. Several involved parties allude to a local ownership group with executive sports experience committed to bringing the team here, though they have not yet publicly stepped forward.
Meanwhile, a loyal fan base supports the Indy Eleven, a team in the United Soccer League, but it remains to be seen if Indy Eleven fans will go all in on a new franchise, given the at-times contentious relationship between Indy Eleven ownership and the mayor's choice to bid independently of the franchise.
Despite the quiet front, conversation could be robust behind closed doors. Seldom do people rich enough to buy into a professional sports league want to show their hand before having full confidence they will land the team, Rishe said.
A 2018 bid in St. Louis drew out similarly, Rishe recalled. Talks stalled for close to a year as voters voted down a measure to publicly fund a stadium, but then the Taylor family, owner of the Enterprise car rental empire and now owner of the St. Louis City SC, stepped up to bankroll the team. Soon after the family entered the spotlight, an MLS team was born along the Mississippi River.
"When you are extremely well-known, you don't want to pursue a team if you aren't confident you'll get what you want and be successful so there could be a lot of conversations taking place at the league level between the family and the commissioner's office," Rishe said.
There are signs of forward motion in Indy: The city is securing properties in the PSDA, and entities owned by Herb Simon and his family, rumored to be a part of the ownership group, have also purchased land in the area.
More: Simon-affiliated company quietly purchases another property near MLS stadium site
But in the meantime, waiting for the right pieces to land at the same time is like an expensive game of chicken: The state waiting on the ownership group going public, the ownership group perhaps wanting to know what the state investment will be, everyone curious what the real numbers are.
In retrospect, sources involved say, the hubbub and optimistic timing predicted last year can be seen as an attempt to try to spur as much momentum as possible.
"It was kind of like trying to catch lightning in a bottle," Mallon said.
Alysa Guffey covers business and development for IndyStar. Contact her at [e-mail].