More Stadium news: as some may or may not know, Phoenix has a 3rd-tier professional soccer team--Arizona United SC (formerly Phoenix FC). The team announced today a second rebrand in as many years, and will now be known as Phoenix Rising FC. They also announced that they plan to build a soccer-specific stadium on the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community land at McClintock/202 formerly rumored to be a site for the Coyotes' stadium. Their press release says they want to be playing at the stadium by next year.
http://www.uslsoccer.com/news_articl...4-news-archive
Quote:
TAMPA, Fla. – Arizona United SC unveiled its rebranding Monday with the announcement of a name change, Phoenix Rising FC...
Phoenix Rising FC, in collaboration with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC) and the Solanna Group, also introduced its plans to develop a 15.8-acre soccer-specific training and stadium facility at McClintock and the 202 Freeway bordering the cities of Tempe and Scottsdale. The club plans to kick off the 2017 soccer season at the new Phoenix Rising FC soccer complex.
“We are thrilled to announce this new era for professional soccer in Arizona,” said Phoenix Rising FC Governor Berke Bakay. “These planned investments should serve as proof that we are serious about creating a successful soccer franchise in our state. We seek to prove that the Valley of the Sun can deliver a successful United Soccer League team and eventually compete at the highest levels of soccer.”
“We’re quite impressed by Phoenix Rising FC’s grasp of the goal we are trying to achieve at Akimel 7 for a quality sports and entertainment environment,” said David Fordon, CEO and General Manager of the Solanna Group LLC. “We also appreciate the club’s commitment to bring a state-of-the-art, FIFA stadium designed for Arizona’s climate to Salt River as a significant contribution to the economic growth of the Community. We’re happy for the Valley and thrilled by the zeal and excitement that professional soccer will bring to all the passionate fans for the sport that are eager for top fight competition and international exhibitions. We very much welcome the addition of Phoenix Rising FC to our community...”
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They seem to be signaling that the eventual goal is MLS expansion. My understanding is that one of the big things MLS looks for in expansion franchises is a soccer-specific stadium, so this could be a big step toward that. No information that I've seen re: financing, but it seems possible that between the Indian Community, Solanna, and the fact that this is likely to be a less expensive undertaking than the Coyotes' proposal, they may not face the financing hurdles faced by the Coyotes.
EDIT: Apparently, the stadium will be a 5,000-seater "pop-up" stadium (not sure exactly how that works, but that's about all Phoenix soccer draws right now anyway), but will have capacity for expansion.
https://twitter.com/brahmresnik/stat...24828107214848