A rendering of the planned Pro Iowa Stadium and Global Plaza that will be located at 200 S.W. 16th St. in Des Moines. Architectural rendering special to the Business Record

Efforts to bring professional soccer to the Greater Des Moines area cleared a major hurdle this week with the signing of a franchise agreement between Kyle Krause and representatives of the United Soccer League.

The agreement caps a more than two-year push to gain public and private backing not only for a professional Des Moines-based soccer team, but also a new outdoor stadium and plaza.

“This is very exciting for the league, for Iowa and for Des Moines,” said Justin Papadakis, chief operating officer for the USL. “The city is going to be getting a top-level soccer team, but more importantly, it’s going to be getting a stadium, which we call the ‘community living room.’ Everyone will be able to get together with their friends and family … and support their team.

“It’s going to be an exciting community asset.”

The professional soccer club and Pro Iowa Stadium and Global Plaza, planned on a site near the southwest entryway into downtown, not only will bring new entertainment to the Des Moines area, but will also provide an economic boost, Krause said.

“We are creating an attractive entertainment option that will help attract and retain a young and diverse workforce,” said Krause, who has owned the Des Moines Menace for 24 years and will be the owner of the new USL Championship men’s soccer team.

“There also will be a lot of economic activity around the stadium like a hotel, apartments and entertainment-type things that will correspond with the stadium.”

Krause announced the signing of franchise agreement Thursday evening during the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s annual dinner that fittingly featured Mia Hamm, a retired professional soccer player, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion.

 Krause and the USL announced in September 2019 that the league was considering Des Moines for a USL Championship club. The deal, however, was contingent on development of a home stadium.

Two years ago, Krause was making telephone calls and meeting with people to garner support, financial and otherwise, for the proposed stadium project and USL club, he said.

“And then everyone went home [because of the pandemic] and those calls, for all the right reasons, stopped,” Krause, chairman and CEO of Krause Group, the parent company of Kum & Go convenience stores, said in an interview. “The pandemic slowed things down, but the important thing now is [that] we have gotten to where we are today and we’ve got people ready and wanting to be engaged in the stadium project and bringing a club [to Des Moines].”

In fall 2020, Krause Group offered to partner with the city of Des Moines to redevelop a 43-acre toxic site on which the former Dico Inc. plant had been located. The site, located at 200 S.W. 16th St., was placed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund list in 1983.

Cleanup of the site began last summer and was completed in late fall, clearing the way for development of the proposed $75 million multiuse-stadium that will include 6,300 seats and 12 suites. An $8.7 million Global Plaza, which will be large enough to host cultural and community events, is planned around the stadium. Preparation work on the site is expected to begin in the spring and a groundbreaking for the stadium in the fall. The first soccer match is expected to be held at the stadium in spring 2024.

In June, the Iowa Economic Development Authority approved providing the project with up to $23.5 million through the state’s Iowa Reinvestment Act program. In addition, the Iowa Soccer Development Foundation, the fundraising arm of the stadium initiative, has raised 87% of its $25 million goal.

“On a personal note, I’d like to thank everybody who has put years of work in this vision, whether or not they were soccer people or just believed that this is good for Central Iowa,” Krause said. “The leaders that stepped in – both on the government side and the business side and the philanthropists. Without them being involved, this doesn’t happen.”

More about USL Championship
The USL Championship is sanctioned by the U.S. Soccer Federation as a Division II professional league. The organization has more than 27 member clubs across the U.S. and Canada with a reach of more than 84 million people, according to a news release.

Justin Papadakis, chief operating officer for the USL, said three to four new teams will likely debut in the spring of 2024 in addition to the Des Moines club. “We have the World Cup here in the United States in 2026 so the timing for the new teams is perfect,” he said.

Get involved
The announcement on signing the franchise agreement kicks off several other activities that will involve the community. Input from the public is needed to develop the new team’s name and crest as well as other branding initiatives. To learn how to participate and to fill out a survey, click here.