Indy renews MLS talks with Football Stadium District pitch

The latest: Mayor Joe Hogsett met with MLS commissioner Don Garber earlier this month, according to the IBJ, rekindling the talks about a new soccer-specific stadium that had appeared stalled.

The intrigue: The city is moving away from a site it had been focused on since 2024, near the heliport on the east side of downtown.

• The IBJ reported that a site near Lucas Oil Stadium is now the target for a Football Stadium District in the southwest quadrant of downtown.
• Yes, but: That doesn't appear to be the former Diamond Chain property, where Indy Eleven owner Ersal Ozdemir broke ground for a mixed-use development anchored by a soccer stadium before the city pivoted to the heliport area.

Flashback: Two years ago, the city was bullish on its bid for an MLS team.

• Hogsett met repeatedly with Garber and MLS officials and publicly outlined his plans to build a stadium downtown.
• Those talks stalled over the last year, though, and the stadium plan never progressed to the State Budget Committee.

What they're saying: "Given Major League Soccer's continued growth as a league, and soccer's growth as a sport, I remain committed to doing everything in my power to position Indianapolis for success," Hogsett told Axios in a statement Friday. "In the coming weeks and months, I will be presenting both MLS and state and local partners a path forward."

Between the lines: The league doesn't seem in a hurry to expand.

• "For a lot of different reasons — schedule makeup and the like — I don't see us going beyond 32, and I'm not sure 32 is coming anytime soon," Garber told Fox News over the summer.

What's next: Indianapolis officials are expected to lobby state lawmakers for additional tools to pave the way for the stadium that MLS requires.