A new American soccer expansion story could soon unfold on a vacant plot of land in Mesa, Arizona, the former site of a shopping mall anchored by Sears. Vicki Mayo, the businesswoman leading efforts to bring top-tier professional soccer to the area, has ambitious plans for that land, located a traffic-free 20-minute drive from downtown Phoenix. The proposed project is a 25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium, fully enclosed with a natural grass pitch.
Aiming for NWSL and MLS
The stadium and early expansion efforts appear primarily aimed at entrance into the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). According to Mayo, 20,000 people have signed a fan initiative aimed at attracting a team from the women's league to the prospective stadium.
"I wanted to build a stadium that supports female athletes but also female fans and I wanted to make sure they have a really great experience," Mayo said. "You think about the trajectory of stadiums... there was the OG of stadiums, which was just sort of open-air and had a certain type of seating. Then you think of stadium 1.0, where we had a lot of premium seating, we started having more infrastructure, better concessions. I think that we're moving on to stadium 2.0 and 3.0, and I think that means we're getting a more sophisticated fanbase that wants to go to a game and have an amazing amount of comfort."
Mayo is also leaving the door open for a potential Major League Soccer (MLS) team. "I think a world in which we have men's soccer, women's soccer, concerts we are able to host... I think that's a success," she said.
Local Support and Land Deal
Mesa Mayor Mark Freeman echoed an eagerness for top-tier soccer in the city. "The Phoenix metropolitan area is a great place for it, and we're able and willing to court them," Freeman said in an interview with 12 News late last year, citing both MLS and women's soccer.
Earlier this year, Palo District LLC, one of several companies owned by Mayo, entered into a long-term lease agreement with a purchase option meant to be triggered by 2030 for an 80-acre plot of land in West Mesa, according to Maricopa county public records. In the sprawling Phoenix metro area, there is perhaps no one-size-fits-all location for a stadium. Still, less than a few miles from two major freeways and close to the growing East Valley, the site offers positives.
Stadium Plans and Financing
The plans for the stadium itself are finished, according to Mayo. Those plans were created by Gensler, an architecture firm that designed US Soccer's new training center outside Atlanta and the Chicago Fire's new stadium, with plenty of input from the lifelong entrepreneur herself.
Mayo said she and her husband Simer "would be the majority owners" of a team or teams should NWSL and/or MLS have interest in the Mesa project. The prospective franchise owner was noncommittal about conversations with the two leagues, saying she was "not at liberty" to disclose whether talks had taken place. About the NWSL, Mayo noted that "we are very excited about the prospect of NWSL. We really love the league. I love the direction it's going and the growth."
When reached for comment about specific interest from Mesa, an NWSL spokesperson said: "While we don't comment on specific markets or pending bids, we continue to engage in a deliberate, rolling expansion process with a number of world-class potential ownership groups as we look toward the future of the league."
Construction Timeline and Tax Benefits
Of the stadium, Mayo said the project expects "to break ground in the summer" with the goal to have it open "by 2028." When asked if stadium construction would still proceed if NWSL and MLS pass on Mesa, Mayo demurred: "It's definitely our goal and our intention to create the stadium and have it ready and open by 2028."
Mayo noted that the land was effectively turned into "its own mini municipality" after a unanimous Mesa city council vote last year declared it a "theme park district." The Palo District can "levy a transaction privilege tax on business activity in the District," according to Mesa documentation, and, crucially, "has bonding authority and so we are now able to raise bonds to be able to build and finance the stadium," Mayo noted.
"The theme park district legislation... was built specifically to help create a system where you can get bond financing, but not put the burden necessarily on the taxpayers," Mayo said. "So I think that's been a big thing. And I appreciate it. I get it. I'm a citizen of Arizona too. We want to make sure that we're not creating burdens for our citizens."
Of course, the theme park district legislation has value for Mayo, too. In addition to providing a funding mechanism via bonds and a special sales tax, property constructed in the district is exempt from income and property taxes, according to state legislation. The specific value of that tax exemption depends on the assessed value of the property. However, a property tax exemption could easily be worth several million dollars per year based on Mesa's commercial property tax rates and an expected increase in property value that would result from building on the land.
Existing Soccer Presence in Phoenix
It's worth noting that Phoenix is already home to a title-winning soccer team: Phoenix Rising, now playing in the men's second-division USL Championship. Though Rising, led by a prior majority owner, once pushed for entrance into MLS, the club is not involved in the state's latest bid for top-flight soccer.
"I do nothing but wish them well," Mayo said of Phoenix Rising. Having occupied multiple different modular stadiums since going public with their application to join MLS in 2017, permanence has been Rising's biggest challenge. Former MLS president and deputy commissioner Mark Abbott, fresh off a visit to Phoenix that included meetings with Rising leadership in 2017, reinforced the importance of "finding the right stadium solution." In 2018, the club's ownership noted to Sports Illustrated a lack of "shovel-in-the-ground" readiness for a stadium. As of 2024 documentation, Rising are in the midst of a seven-year primary lease with three single-year options on a 10-acre site in Phoenix. The club made a brief push to add professional first-division women's soccer to its umbrella, initially announcing itself as part of the inaugural class of USL Super League clubs in 2023. Before forming a team, the club withdrew its plans in 2024.
Top-flight soccer still isn't guaranteed in the Phoenix metro area. But with a stadium site and a funding plan, it appears more practical than ever before. "Our goal was always to build the highest levels of infrastructure to bring the highest levels of soccer into the state," Mayo said. "However that ends up shaking out, I'm excited."
