Milwaukee Professional Soccer LLC, the group still trying to bring a Major League Soccer (MLS) team to Milwaukee, has secured an option to acquire a 15-acre site for a 20,000-seat soccer stadium, the group’s chief executive officer said. "It’s in the city of Milwaukee," said Peter Wilt, chief executive officer of Milwaukee Professional Soccer. "That’s all I can tell you."
The stadium development would include mixed-use residential and commercial development around the stadium. The size of that development would depend on how much additional land could be acquired, Wilt said.
However, the group still has not found a lead investor for the team, Wilt said. If a lead investor does not step forward to join the group during the next few months, the effort to bring a MLS team to Milwaukee will die, he said. "I think if we don’t find the lead investor in the next few months, it is a project that will end," Wilt said. "We’ve accomplished a number of our goals and put together a number of pieces to the puzzle. But we are still missing the biggest piece, and that is a lead investor."
The minority owners of Milwaukee Professional Soccer include sports attorney Martin Greenberg, businessman Rick Bergman and Dr. James Mazzulla and Dr. Ashok Kumar. Wilt launched the Chicago Fire, an MLS expansion team in 1998, and is trying to do the same in Milwaukee.
If the Milwaukee soccer group finds a lead investor, there is a good chance that person will live outside of the United States, Wilt said. Ever since the Los Angeles Galaxy in January announced that it had signed David Beckham, perhaps the best known soccer player in the world, foreign investors are expressing more interest in owning MLS teams, including a potential team in Milwaukee, he said.
"The David Beckham signing by MLS has spurred some interest from (investors in) England," Wilt said. "The David Beckham signing legitimized MLS to the world. We are pursuing (lead investor) candidates on both sides of the ocean. We are pursuing more candidates outside of the state than those with Milwaukee ties."
The window of opportunity for Milwaukee to get an MLS team will close soon, Wilt said. Milwaukee is one of several cities with groups trying to get an MLS team. The league has 12 teams and will add a 13th, Toronto, this year. San Jose and St. Louis appear likely to get expansion teams, Wilt said. That means the MLS will probably only add one more team in the foreseeable future, he said. In addition, the option that the Milwaukee group has on the 15-acre stadium site will expire, Wilt said.
If everything comes together, the Milwaukee group hopes to have an MLS team for the 2009 season, Wilt said.
