Garland officials put up a red card in their negotiations with a new professional soccer team interested in establishing a headquarters along the President George Bush Turnpike.
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The city informed Atlético Dallas this week that it was ending plans for a $70.8M soccer facility that would have served as a training facility and headquarters for the United Soccer League team. The facility was to be leased to the soccer club, but Garland officials determined the city wouldn’t see a large enough return on its investment.
“We are committed to being good stewards of public funds and will ensure any investment not only provides lasting value for our residents and businesses but also strengthens Garland’s position as a destination and economic driver," Garland Mayor Dylan Hedrick said in a statement.
The complex would have included an artificial turf field with seating for 2,000 fans as well as a 28K SF multipurpose building for Atlético Dallas offices, locker rooms and a team store. There were also plans for hybrid and grass fields that would have been used for training and youth games as well as futsal courts and a public plaza with trails, the Dallas Business Journal reported.
Garland City Council approved a term sheet in June to lease the planned soccer complex to Atlético Dallas. The club was going to pay $75K per year for the soccer fields, with a 2.5% annual increase. The multipurpose building lease was for $350K per year plus the larger of either 10% of net sponsorships or $50K more.
Work on the city-owned land was supposed to start next year and wrap up in 2027.
Atlético Dallas officials said the 14 acres of adjacent land could have attracted a private $100M-plus investment to build a mixed-use development.
“From day one, this project was about more than soccer,” Atlético Dallas co-founder Matt Valentine said in a statement. “It was about giving Garland families and athletes a place to gather, grow and take pride in their community.”
The club offered to privately fund some aspects of the project, but that was rejected by the city.
Atlético Dallas will make its debut in the USL in 2027. The team has offices in Richardson but won approval from the Dallas City Council in June to play its home games at the Cotton Bowl. The club also signed a lease for the MoneyGram Soccer Complex in Northwest Dallas.
Garland will continue with infrastructure improvements to prepare the site previously earmarked for the soccer complex for future development. Officials said the site at Holford Road and the turnpike is well-positioned to attract a mixed-use development.
In June, Garland City Council rezoned 317 acres on the south side of the city as part of an effort to attract the kind of multibillion-dollar mixed-use developments that have helped transform Metroplex cities like Plano, Richardson and Addison.
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