Hogsett's soccer stadium project in front of council
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Indy's pursuit of the beautiful game is getting messy.
The big picture: Mayor Joe Hogsett's proposal to build a soccer stadium in order to lure an MLS expansion team to town is officially before the City-County Council, but its unconventional path is drawing criticism.
Catch up quick: Hogsett announced his intentions to pursue an MLS team without the Indy Eleven — or its owner, Ersal Ozdemir, who's already broken ground on his own stadium project — last month.
Driving the news: Hogsett's proposal to establish a new taxing district for a competing stadium project on the southeast side of downtown was introduced to the council Monday night.
- It was sponsored by council president Vop Osili, rather than the councilor who represents the area, Kristin Jones.
- Jones said she wants to see the city move forward with the Indy Eleven and won't support the new taxing district.
The intrigue: Ozdemir launched a social media campaign to rally support around his stadium project, Eleven Park, and lined up a new investor to support his plan to transition the Indy Eleven to MLS.
The latest: Hogsett's proposal was slated to go before the council's metropolitan and economic development committee, as the Eleven Park project did, but instead has been referred to the rules and public policy committee.
- Osili said that's because a public hearing needs to be advertised at least 10 days in advance of the meeting and because the proposal struggled to find a sponsor, there wasn't enough time to get it on next week's development committee agenda.
What they're saying: "We remain concerned that these continuing efforts to bend council rules to the will of the executive branch threatens both the future of Eleven Park and the future of economic development in our state's capital city," said Indy Eleven in a statement.
What's next: The rules and public policy committee meets at 5:30pm May 28.