Image via Pabst Theater Group
Menomonee Valley Soccer Stadium
The next phase of Milwaukee’s sporting and entertainment future is in the works, and a pair of developers look to make it a reality by spring of 2024.
On Friday, Kacmarcik Enterprises, Bear Development and the Pabst Theater Group announced an agreement to purchase an 11-acre plot of land from Marquette University for the purpose of developing a new entertainment complex. The core development will be an 8,000-seat stadium with the intention of hosting a professional soccer franchise, as well as an indoor concert venue, a hotel, housing, restaurants and retail offerings. The development would activate an area of the city that has largely remained dormant.
In terms of bringing professional soccer to Milwaukee, the announcement states that the stadium will host “the highest level of professional soccer in the state of Wisconsin.” It was not specified if the club would be a new endeavor, or a redevelopment of an existing entity. A national league affiliation will be announced in the coming months. Milwaukee currently is home to the Milwaukee Torrent, which plays in the semi-pro National Premier Soccer League. Madison is home to Forward Madison FC, owned by Jim Kacmarcik of Kacmarcik Enterprises. Forward Madison, who play in the third tier of American soccer, the USL League One, currently play at Breese Stevens Field in Madison. The Milwaukee Torrent play home matches at Hart Park in Wauwatosa. In addition to professional soccer, the stadium will be a new home for Marquette University men’s and women’s soccer and lacrosse.
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The proposed indoor concert venue would host up to 3,500 people, and would be operated by a premier concert promoter as well as the Pabst Theater Group. It is expected to be utilized for up to 300 events per year, including an estimated 80 to 100 national touring acts annually. Recently the Pabst Theater Group acquired booking rights to operate the Miller High Life Theater, and continue to operate four other venues in town. While a recent proposal from Frank Productions and Summerfest to develop a new venue near the festival grounds has been cancelled, the proposed new venue would be unrelated to that effort.
On top of the stadium and entertainment venue, the new 11-acre development will hold 99 multi-family housing units on its perimeter, as well as an 140-room upscale hotel, owned by Bear Development. Plans for retail and restaurant developments do not include specified tenants at this time, but would round out the district as a full-service offering. More information on those aspects of the district will be announced over time.
The Menomonee Valley area is taking a big step forward, and we’ll watch the city transform once again over the next year.
