The next 90 days will be crucial as investors and developers finalize plans for a new Milwaukee USL Championship stadium, as the city awaits details on a new development currently planned for the 2025 season.
As with any new development–never mind one built around a new stadium–there will be changes to the scope and design of the project before any groundbreaking. The sports/entertainment complex, the Iron District, was announced with an 8,000-seat stadium for USL soccer, an 3,500-capacity indoor concert venue, a full-service hotel, multi-family residential housing, retail, and food and beverage elements. Besides men’s pro soccer in the form of USL Championship soccer, the stadium would host Marquette men’s and women’s soccer and lacrosse teams, as well as other events. The Iron District MKE sports/entertainment district will be located at an 11-acre site parcel from Marquette University. The parcel, to be master developed by Kenosha-based Bear Development, is bordered by North Sixth Street to the east, Michigan Street to the north, and the 794/I-43 interchange to the east and south. (Think kitty-corner from downtown’s Hilton Milwaukee, a very visible landmark.)
Since then there have been plenty of changes to the game plan. First, proposed state funding of $9.3 million for the project was stripped from the state budget by Republicans in the State Legislature. Second, a proposed music venue to be managed by the Pabst Theater Group, has been downsize to an event space within the hotel. And there likely will be other changes to the plan in the next 90 days, called crucial by the development group, per the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
“As you know, this is a big project with a lot of moving parts, but the project timeline remains on an aggressive course for Milwaukee Pro Soccer to begin play at Iron District Milwaukee starting in 2025,” Ross Boettcher, spokesman for Milwaukee Pro Soccer and the Iron District Milwaukee development, said in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in September.
“However, we will know more about potential timeline adjustments in the next 90 days.”
Boettcher said the organization hope to have an update on the project in December.
RELATED STORIES: State funding stalled for new Milwaukee soccer stadium; USL Championship Milwaukee team for 2025 unveiled; New Milwaukee soccer stadium pitched as part of entertainment complex