- Video shows the Green Bay Common Council approving a proposal to negotiate a deal to bring a professional soccer club to the city.
- The United Soccer League (USL) and the City of Green Bay will enter negotiations primarily centered around the construction of a new stadium.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
The Green Bay Common Council voted to move forward with the proposal approved by the Redevelopment Authority that could potentially bring a professional soccer club to Green Bay. There was optimism in City Hall, but there's a lot of work that still needs to happen to make this a reality.
Professional soccer in Green Bay is now one step closer to reality. A unanimous vote moved the City of Green Bay into an exclusive negotiating window with the United Soccer League (USL) to bring a professional club to the city.
But the biggest hurdle to clear is how and where to build a new stadium with an entertainment district around it. In order to help economic development, the USL says the stadium wouldn't be just for soccer.
"What we want to build is around a 5,000 seat commercial stadium but in addition to men's and women's soccer, [it will host] high school football, concerts, festivals, graduations. We really want this stadium being programmed almost every day," said USL Deputy CEO and Chief Real Estate Officer Justin Papadakis.
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But the core stadium function of course would be for a soccer team, something that the league believes will be something the community will support with proper investment.
"We think that if we can have the right product, stadium, on the field and off in terms of district that it'll be supported by the community," said Papadakis.
While there will now be formal discussions continuing between the league and City, time, energy and money are still required all of which the league says they're committed to contributing.
"These projects are very hard, there's a lot of stars that need to align," said Papadakis. "We believe in Green Bay. We're going to invest in Green Bay to see if we can put all those stars together."
League officials say they want to do this right not fast, so while there's no timetable on an agreement with the City, they believe the backdrop of the 2026 World Cup in the U.S. could be beneficial.
