Indy Eleven’s Future at Stake as MLS Blitzkrieg Undoes Stadium Deal
Yet another story of MLS coming in to take out a thriving USL market… and possibly others.
On Thursday, Mayor Joe Hogsett of Indianapolis revealed to reporters that he had flown to New York City on Monday and met with MLS Commissioner Don Garber to discuss bringing an MLS expansion franchise to his city. The Mayor will be helping to lead the application process into the league with an unknown ownership group, and the city just recently filed a resolution to create a professional sports development area east of the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the home of the Indiana Pacers.
However, this new development comes with an incredible amount of questions. First, it has been reported by credible reporter Abdul-Hakim Shabazz that when a deal for the new soccer stadium developer is up to vote at the Indianapolis City Council, the votes will not be there!
https://x.com/attyabdul/status/1783608796113449085?s=46
Second and most importantly, this development came with Mayor Hogsett pulling out of a years-long development project with USL Championship side Indy Eleven to build the 20,000 seat multipurpose-stadium dubbed Eleven Park, a project that costs $1 billon in total and has already broken ground, digging up human remains in the process!
Mayor Hogsett’s office told reporters before the conference that this stadium deal was just a proposal by Indy Eleven’s ownership group, Keystone, and nothing more, even though the mayor attended an event surrounding the development. His office also said that the event was not a city endorsement of the project. Keystone has responded with a complaint, stating that Hogsett pulling out of the deal is “a shocking reversal of (the Mayor’s) public support for this project at the 2023 groundbreaking, for the dozens of local investors in this team, the thousands of Marion County jobs committed by Indiana companies who have been working on this project, and the tens of thousands of Indy Eleven fans in Indiana and across the country”. The full complaint can be found at the bottom of the attached article: https://fox59.com/indiana-news/developer-claims-city-is-backing-out-of-indy-eleven-stadium-deal-as-mayor-joe-hogsett-plans-major-sports-announcement/amp/.
Finally, this expansion attempt is in no way a guarantee and could fall through if potential ownership doesn’t pay the fee MLS demands or if a stadium proposal is voted against. Meanwhile, Eleven Park is a guaranteed development supported by one of the USL’s most successful clubs to date. Indy Eleven average around 9,000-10,000 fans in attendance per match and have a strong local fan base. Their stadium launch was going to be a huge moment both for the club and the USL Championship as a whole. It is hard to not see this as another attempt by MLS to take out a thriving USL club and steal the fan base they developed, because if Indianapolis does receive an MLS team, it will mean the end of Indy Eleven.
A quick note that needs to be mentioned is another report from Abdul-Hakim Shabazz that stated that the MLS has more expansion targets lined up. This would make sense if it was Las Vegas, but no, in reality it’s actually two more thriving USL markets in Tampa Bay and Detroit!
https://x.com/attyabdul/status/1783609842915041345?s=46
The MLS are fully determined to control all of U.S. Soccer and slowly eliminate the USL, with Indy Eleven being their newest potential victim and possibly more to come. Mayor Joe Hogsett has wrongfully backed out of the Eleven Park deal and risked the existence of his city’s pro soccer team. Our thoughts at Beyond the 90 go out to the Indy Eleven supporters, as this is a fate no team should ever have to face. We hope that the club will get through this challenge and continue to thrive in the USL for years to come.
Such a heel turn by the mayor. Why wouldn't he work with the Indy Eleven together on a bid? As opposed to pulling support from a project that's already broken ground.
The optics of the Mayor making the pilgrimage to grovel at the feet of "Lord Garber" is unseemly, even sickening.... Shouldn't it be the other way around? Unless he was "sent" by one of his billionaire owners?? Let's hope this eventually leads to impeachment or a recall vote!