New soccer stadium in Detroit could open in 2027

Detroit City Football Club has called Hamtramck home since 2016. The team moved from its original grounds at Cass Technical High School and raised almost $750,000 to upgrade historic Keyworth Stadium.

Now, DCFC plans to build a new stadium in Corktown.

The club bought the vacant Southwest Detroit Hospital in 2024. Owners plan to demolish the building and clean up the property on Michigan Avenue near I-75 and I-96.

Co-owner Alex Wright says they want a modern facility.

“A lot of the stuff we’re doing is behind the scenes currently, but it’s something that we want to be a special place, a community place, and very much the next step in sort of the vision of building our ambition of being Detroit’s soccer team,” Wright said.

Soccer seeds bear fruit

A new stadium would be the next step in DCFC’s evolution. The club started in 2012, playing against regional teams in the amateur National Premier Soccer League. It quickly became one of NPSL’s most successful clubs. After moving to Keyworth in 2016, City was playing before sellout crowds.

Le Rouge went pro in 2020, joining the fledgling National Independent Soccer Association. After winning two NISA championships, the club moved up again, to the United Soccer League Championship division in 2022. It has qualified for the USL playoffs every year since joining the league.

In 2025, USL petitioned the U.S. Soccer Federation to create a new pro division that would compete on the same level as Major League Soccer. Alex Wright says building a new soccer-specific stadium would improve DCFC’s chances of promotion.

“A lot of that has to do with the facility you play in,” he said. “We feel confident that we will be eligible to be part of that inaugural class of USL Division One.”

Breaking ground, building the game

The first step is demolishing the old hospital, which could cost up to $6 million. The Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority voted unanimously to reimburse the club’s demolition costs over 21 years. Wright says while he expects some hiccups along the way, they should not derail construction.

“This isn’t something we want to drag out for a generation,” he said. “We want to have a stadium where we’re kicking a ball in 2027.”

Wright says the stadium campaign is the latest effort to grow soccer organically in Detroit. He says the owners will not be absentee landlords.

“The three of us that are working full-time for the club, we’re within biking and walking distance of this location,” he said. “Find me another ownership group in America that can walk to the stadium they’re building.”

Wright says the new stadium could have up to 15,000 seats — almost twice Keyworth’s capacity. He expects to break ground this summer with more details and designs to come.