Organizers behind the proposed construction of the Pro Iowa Soccer Stadium and Global Plaza near downtown Des Moines say they remain optimistic about the project’s future despite recent questions about funding.

The nonprofit Iowa Soccer Development Foundation has proposed a 6,300-seat stadium on the former Dico Inc. site, a superfund site south of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and east of Fleur Drive, with plans to bring a United Soccer League franchise to the city. 

A feasibility study by Johnson Consulting estimated the stadium and the associated Global Plaza development would generate $8.8 billion in revenue over 20 years and create 2,000 permanent jobs and 6,800 part-time jobs. It would represent an investment of $500 million in downtown Des Moines.

For business leaders, the development would add to the vibrancy of downtown Des Moines and be an economic driver that draws workers to the region.

“I think it’s a tremendous asset for people to live here,” said Jeff Lorenzen, CEO of American Equity Investment Life Insurance Co. and president of the Iowa Soccer Development Foundation, the nonprofit behind the stadium project. “The stadium itself has the proximity. The more you can have activities downtown, the more draw you get to people who want to live downtown. The demand for downtown housing is fairly high, and in order to retain people down here, you have to have things to do.”

But the stadium project, initially estimated at $95 million, has faced an ongoing funding gap that now stands at about $22 million, leading to work to “value-engineer” the design to try to accommodate the funding that is available.

That process is “always evolving,” Lorenzen said.

“We have a gap we’re trying to fill, and we have a desire for some additional dollars that are coming from IEDA that we’re working through to try and find a way to capture those dollars. “And we have three or four other strategies we’re working through, and between Krause+ and ISDF, we believe we’ll close that gap,” Lorenzen said.

Krause+ is the property development arm of Krause Group, which owns 15 properties in the John Pappajohn Sculpture Park neighborhood, from the redeveloped Crescent building on Ingersoll Avenue going south toward the site of the proposed soccer stadium. In all, it totals about 1 million square feet of space 

The soccer stadium project received a boost in the fall of 2024 when the Iowa Economic Development Authority board approved $23.5 million in funding from the Iowa District Reinvestment Act. So far, the project has raised $75 million through a combination of public and private dollars, including a $23 million contribution from Kyle Krause, founder and CEO of the Krause Group, and his wife, Sharon.

Krause Group, which also owns the Italian soccer club Parma Calcio 1913, is behind bringing a USL soccer team to Des Moines. The team would be owned by Krause Group; the stadium would be owned by the ISDF.

Organizers hope to tap into additional money that has become available through the IRA program to get the project to the finish line.

According to IEDA, an additional $10 million is currently available. It comes from the IEDA’s denial last summer of the city of Ames application for a large redevelopment project.

In September, the IEDA opened a 90-day window for eligible existing districts to apply for the funding. The applications will be reviewed during the first quarter of 2026. A deadline for announcing the awards has not been set.

The 90-day window ends on Dec. 23, IEDA officials have said. Additional funding could be added to the pot if an already approved award is reduced or terminated in the next 60 days, and the IEDA can divvy up that funding between as many projects that make a competitive request, officials said.

Iowa Reinvestment Act districts approved after July 2018 are eligible to apply for the additional funding. They include districts in Newton and Fort Dodge, the Merle Hay Mall redevelopment project, a district in Cedar Rapids, and the soccer stadium project.

The Des Moines City Council recently voted to expand its Iowa Reinvestment Act District to include the Market District development south of the East Village, making the district eligible to receive funding.

Des Moines City Manager Scott Sanders wrote in an emailed statement that the application process for the additional funding is underway, and details of the application and possible state funding hadn’t been finalized.

“The City of Des Moines is in a fortunate position in which it has multiple projects that present excellent opportunities for investment in the continued growth of downtown Des Moines,” Sanders wrote.

Organizers of the soccer stadium are hoping to get as much of the funding as they can to ensure their project moves forward.

Lorenzen said the Iowa Soccer Development Foundation believes if it can get 50% of what is available from IEDA, “that would be enough to close our gap.”

“We’re still engineering that capital stack to get there,” he said. “We have our plan right now expecting 50%.”

Krause, who sits on the ISDF board, said if the city allocates 50% to the soccer stadium development and the other 50% to the Market District, it would be a win-win for downtown Des Moines and the region.

“It would allow two fantastic, transformational Des Moines projects to occur,” he said.

Jim Cownie, founder of JSC Properties, which is developing the Market District, said he is supportive of the soccer stadium project and what it would mean for the community, and he hopes to tap into the IEDA funding to continue that momentum. 

If the Market District receives funding from IEDA, Cownie said it would help further development of the site. When the first phase of the development is complete, the Market District will include 2,500 residential units and about 30,000 square feet of retail space.

So far, two lots that front Market Street have letters of intent from out-of-state developers with plans for ground-floor retail and upper-story residential. Both are directly east of the newly completed Two Rivers Park, a redevelopment project funded by MidAmerican Energy Co.

Two other lots are under contract. One would be ground-floor retail with upper-story hospitality; the other is a multiphase, multifamily development with 250 units.

Another lot is where developers plan to address parking needs in the Market District, with Cownie referring to what could be built there as a “parking solution.”

Three other lots in the Market District will be acquired from the city at a later date and could feature office space, said Tim Rypma, who is partnering with Cownie in the development.

In all, the Market District represents about $600 million in investment, Rypma said.

For Cownie, the Market District represents an opportunity to continue the momentum seen in downtown Des Moines and the region, and increase tax dollars that can be used for roads, public safety and amenities that will draw more people to live and work downtown. 

With eyes on their own project, the ISDF has given itself a deadline of Nov. 3 to put together its own plan to show the city how it intends to close its funding gap.

“We gave ourselves two weeks, until Nov. 3, to get this done,” Krause said. “Our challenge is to not give others a reason to not support us financially. So, let’s get all of our things done, and if the city decides to wait two weeks, three weeks, whatever they need to wait to get their decision, then we can say we have a plan. Here it is.”

Krause said organizers are optimistic about a path forward for the stadium project.

“There’s no certainty in the future, but we’re convinced that with the city support that we’re talking about today, we have a stadium project,” he said.

Krause said, however, that without a stadium project, “essentially all” the additional development that would be tied to it likely would not happen.

Having the soccer stadium project and Global Plaza development be successful would provide a “once in a generation” type of asset for the community and region, he said, comparing it to the Casey’s Center and the Civic Center.

Lorenzen said every project carries risks, but that the ISDF believes it has put together a plan to get the project done.

“If the city votes to give 100% [of the IRA allocation it could receive] to the Market District, it throws a wrench in what we’re trying to get done,” he said. “I don’t know that we can value-engineer a capital stack that would support moving forward without that additional support. I’m not saying that we can’t, but it creates tension in what we’re trying to get done.”

Lorenzen said he would expect some work to begin on the site in the spring of 2026, with construction being complete in 2028.

Meanwhile, ISDF will “continue to push that net” of seeking public support a little wider, “because this isn’t just about Des Moines,” he said.

“This is about Iowa, so we’re making calls on folks that maybe don’t live here or in this market, but know the value that it can bring to the state,” Lorenzen said. “Our goal is to get this done and we’re doing what we can to move this project forward.”

Related coverage: Soccer stadium moving forward with infrastructure work planned to start next spring