Indy Soccer Team Applies For MLS Expansion

Indy Eleven will be pursuing one of four Major League Soccer openings.  The team is submitting paperwork to MLS headquarters in New York Tuesday.

“It amounts to bringing in another sports franchise to the city of Indianapolis. It’s a very big deal and very important to us, and will be important to this community and to our soccer fans in Indianapolis and in Indiana,” says Indy Eleven President Jeff Belskus.

Belskus feels good about the team’s chances. “Soccer has been very well received here. Our attendance has been league-leading -- our NSL league," he says. "We have demonstrated that Indianapolis will be a good market for professional soccer”

Indianapolis will become the 12th city hoping to enter the league.   A final decision is expected later this year.  The application reportedly will include a plan for a downtown stadium that would be built between Lucas Oil Stadium and the White River as part of a public-private partnership.

After selling out all 14 home games of its 2014 Inaugural Season, Indy Eleven is currently in its third season at Michael A. Carroll Stadium -- with a capacity of 10,524 -- on the campus of IUPUI in downtown Indianapolis.