The Steel left Bethlehem last year. But the soccer team affiliated with the Philadelphia Union might return to the Lehigh Valley.

A club spokesman confirmed the Bethlehem Steel FC could relocate to Easton’s Cottingham Stadium.

The stadium will undergo a $13.3 million renovation after the Red Rovers end the 2019 football season. The plan is to open the refurbished stadium for the 2020 football season.

The Easton Area School Board is expected to vote June 25 to solicit bids from construction companies for the new bleachers, locker rooms, press box and other amenities.

When they request bids, they may ask for extra lighting so that the stadium would meet USL Championship requirements. The Steel plays in that league, which is a step below Major League Soccer.

“We’ve made no attempt to hide the fact that we’ve been trying to get back to the Lehigh Valley,” said Rob Hildreth, coordinator of communications for Bethlehem Steel FC.

Easton school board member Robert Fehnel said at Tuesday’s meeting that Cottingham makes sense for the Steel because it’s a grass field. Many high schools in the area have converted to turf.

The Steel used to play at Goodman Stadium on Lehigh University’s campus but had to leave because the lights weren’t bright enough. They played most of this season at the Union’s field, Talen Energy Stadium in Chester. The team moved its three home matches in June to LaSalle University’s field to give the grass at Talen Energy Stadium a break.

The school board will vote later this month on whether to add an alternate bid for the extra lighting. USL matches need at least 120 foot-candles of light on the field, according to Josh Grice of D’Huy Enigneering. High school stadiums are mandated to provide only 50 foot-candles. A foot-candle is a measure of light’s brightness.

Grice said the school district could bid for the extra lights but decide later whether they actually want to add them and decide later how to pay for them. He said the light fixtures could be easily adjustable so the extra lights are only used during Steel matches and the district isn’t racking up a high electric bill unnecessarily during high school football games.

Soliciting the bid alternate for the extra lights would start conversations on whether it makes sense to invite the Steel to Cottingham.

“There’s a lot of discussion and a lot of negotiations that have to go on,” Fehnel said.

Hildreth said he’s not on the committee searching for a new Bethlehem Steel venue, but said, “We’re looking at all possibilities.”

So would the Bethlehem Steel need a name change if it relocates to Easton? There are a lot of other questions that need to be answered before that question, according to Hildreth.

“That’s getting way ahead of ourselves,” he said.

Bethlehem Steel forward Kacper Pryzbylko kicks the ball past Birmingham Legion goalkeeper Trevor Spangenberg for a goal at BBVA Compass Field in Birmingham, Ala., Sunday, March 10, 2019. (Mark Almond | preps@al.com) Mark Almond

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.