The city of Garland is considering a $70 million soccer complex to help it court a second-tier professional soccer club and retain it for at least 20 years.
During a City Council work session on Monday, city staff presented plans for the complex located on approximately 65 acres at the intersection of President George Bush Turnpike and Holford Road.
Although the city did not explicitly say the complex was intended to host the new United Soccer League team Atlético Dallas, it seemed to heavily imply it, even featuring the club’s newly unveiled crest, a Mexican gray wolf and rattlesnake, on a rendering of the complex.
The club will play its home games in Garland and will have its inaugural season in 2027.
The proposed complex will include up to eight soccer fields, a multipurpose building and potential space for a mixed-use development, according to current plans. The complex will serve as a training facility and also feature a youth soccer academy.
“We’re thrilled to see this energy and investment in Garland. Atlético Dallas represents the future of professional sports in our city, and we’re proud to welcome the team as a major part of our growing community,” Garland Mayor Scott LeMay said earlier this month.
The project will be formally heard by the council on June 3. It would cost $25 million for the soccer fields, $20 million for the 28,000-square-foot multipurpose building and an additional $26 million for improvements to Holford Road and an extension to Naaman Forest Boulevard.
Assistant City Manager Andy Hesser noted the city’s goal was to attract and retain a championship-caliber USL team, and to catalyze development in the area.
City leaders’ vision is for the property to facilitate tournaments, league play, training and hotel stays in Garland.
The team would lease the property from the city, which owns the entire site, in a 20-year agreement. Terms proposed during the presentation included a $75,000 yearly price tag for the soccer fields with a 2.5% escalation annually. Another $350,000, and the greater of 10% of net sponsorships or $50,000 annually would be paid for the multipurpose building. The city proposed waiving rent for the first 18 months for the multipurpose building as the club begins generating revenue.
The team would also be responsible for developing and implementing an annual maintenance, repair and renovation plan approved by the city of Garland.
Hesser also pointed out a 14-acre site on the property which could potentially be developed for mixed uses.
“It could be hotel, it could be multifamily, it could be food and beverage retail,” he said, noting that was conceptual at this time and no concrete plans had been determined.