A master plan for the proposed soccer stadium complex, valued at $95 million, includes a five-story building for office and retail and a 500-space parking garage. 
Rendering by INVISION Architecture

Blackacre Development LLC paid $7.98 million for nearly 9 acres where an outdoor sports and entertainment venue is proposed to be built, Polk County real estate records show.

The transaction between Blackacre Development and Riverpoint West LLC was completed on Dec. 20, records show.

Blackacre Development is a subsidiary of Krause Group, which is proposing to build a 6,000- to 8,000-seat multiuse sports stadium that would be home to a United Soccer League Championships franchise team. Riverpoint West LLC is affiliated with Minneapolis developer George Sherman.

The proposed development along Southwest 14th Street south of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway would also include a 500-vehicle parking ramp, restaurants and a five-story, 150,000-square-foot mixed-use retail and office building, according to plans presented to Des Moines officials.

The stadium, which would include a street-level plaza, is valued at $60 million; the remainder of the proposed development is valued at $35 million.

Blackacre had an agreement to buy the land from Sherman, according to information provided to the Urban Design Review Board in November. Blackacre had until Tuesday this week to complete the transaction in order to meet benchmarks established by the soccer league and project investors.

Sherman bought the ground in 2007 for $2.8 million, records show.

Blackacre in August bought 3.4 acres at 315 S.W. 14th St. for $2.45 million. A one-story warehouse built in 1969 is located on the parcel, located just east of the proposed soccer site.
The Des Moines City Council earlier this month approved a development agreement that allowed the sale of the land to occur.

Backers of the effort to bring professional soccer to the Des Moines area have until April 1 to show there is support, financially and otherwise, for a team and soccer stadium.