DES MOINES, Iowa — Pro soccer is coming to Des Moines.
The United Soccer League, the second-highest ranked soccer circuit in the U.S., announced on Thursday night in conjunction with the Krause Group that Iowa’s largest city will have a team competing in the league starting in 2024.
The USL Championship is sanctioned by the U.S. Soccer Federation as a Division II professional league. The organization has more than 27 member clubs across the U.S. and Canada with a reach of more than 84 million people. Cities such as Detroit, Las Vegas, Indianapolis, Tampa Bay and San Diego already compete in the USL.
“This announcement has been years in the making,” said Kyle Krause, the chairman and CEO of Krause Group. “We’re thrilled to bring a new professional soccer club here with USL. This is a great opportunity to add another enticing benefit to living in central Iowa.”
The yet-to-be-named team will compete in a stadium set to be built at the old DICO site near Gray’s Lake, just south of downtown Des Moines. Construction is set to begin later this year, with 87 percent of the $25 million that the Pro Iowa Initiative set as its fundraising goal having already been raised.
The team is asking for public input on developing its name, crest and other branding ideas through a survey that can be found here.
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