A proposed Des Moines USL stadium is a step closer to reality after investors closed on the purchase of a potential venue site for $7.98 million.

In September, it was announced that an effort is underway to launch a Des Moines USL Championship club backed by an ownership group led by Krause Group Chairman and CEO and Des Moines Menace (USL League Two) owner Kyle Krause. The hope is for the club to begin play in 2022, contingent upon plans for a new stadium moving forward.

A Krause Group subsidiary, Blackacre Development LLC, has closed on the purchase of 7.4 acres of land south of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and west of Southwest 14th Street for $7.98 million, according to the Des Moines Register. The group had already invested $2.45 million for 4 acres of land across 14th Street.

A 6,000-to-8,000-seat stadium designed to host professional soccer in the form of a USL Championship team and other events would anchor the development, which would also include a five-story office and retail building, restaurants, a 500-space parking garage, and street-level plaza. The total cost of the development is estimated at $95 million, including $60 million for the stadium and $35 million for the ancillary amenities.

The issue, now that the land has been acquired, is how the development would be financed. Krause had raised the possibility of a public-private partnership, but local reaction was mixed to any use of public money for a private development.

Rendering courtesy INVISION Architecture.

RELATED STORIES: Des Moines USL Stadium Proposal Takes Step Forward; Des Moines USL Stadium Pitched as Anchor of Development; Potential Des Moines USL Championship Club Eyed for 2022 Launch