Professional soccer is nearing a return to Fresno in the form of a partnership with the United Soccer League.
The plan, announced by Mayor Jerry Dyer, is to have both men’s and women’s teams competing in a new soccer-specific stadium located in downtown Fresno in two years.
The big picture: Dyer announced on Tuesday that Fresno has signed an exclusivity agreement with the USL to bring professional soccer back to Fresno.
Dyer said the exclusivity agreement was signed on Nov. 1, 2026, and runs for one year.
The city has not yet selected a site for the stadium. Dyer said he has a preferred location that he feels will be supported by the City Council, but he said the city was unable to share any potential stadium sites at this time.
However, Dyer did note that the city is only considering a soccer-specific stadium for downtown, and he mentioned Chinatown as a possibility multiple times during Tuesday’s press conference.
Zoom in: The exclusivity agreement the USL will not have any conversations about bringing a soccer team to another city in Fresno County. Alongside that, the city will not solicit other soccer leagues to bring a team to town and to build a stadium, Dyer said.
The USL is covering all of the predevelopment costs.
Preliminary plans place the stadium’s seating capacity at 5,000 with a total capacity of 7,000, along with room for expansion in the future.
Dyer said the stadium would anchor a new entertainment district for downtown Fresno.
What they’re saying: “We not only need a professional soccer team, or teams, in the City of Fresno, we also need a dedicated soccer stadium in downtown Fresno,” Dyer said. “So today’s announcement is huge, as we will be taking a critical step, a major step towards making this dream a reality. Fresno is ready to have not only its own soccer teams, professional soccer teams, but Fresno’s ready to have it’s own dedicated soccer stadium right here in downtown Fresno.”
USL Deputy CEO and Chief Real Estate Officer Justin Papadakis said the league has focused on transforming the communities it brings teams to.
“We’ve centered our league around having stadium-anchored transformational development, and so here in Fresno that’s what our conversations have been about – is we want to go to communities where we can have that transformational impact,” Papadakis said. “Across the country, while we’re really focused on having a first-class fan experience, we also are equally focused on having an economic impact with our small business owners around the stadium.”
What we’re watching: Dyer offered an aggressive outlook for soccer’s reboot in Fresno. He said the hope is to have the stadium built and the teams competing by March 2028, although that date could be extended if needed.
The investor group is led by former Fresno FC coach Adam Smith with Fresno Pro Soccer LLC. Smith said he has a list of investors ready to jump into the project and is also looking for local investors.
Dyer said he wants to see the stadium built as a public-private partnership.
The backstory: Fresno currently has a semi-pro soccer team, the Central Valley Fuego FC. But Fuego FC has had issues with securing a permanent home, leading to a decision to leave USL League One in 2024, which left Fresno without a professional soccer team.
Fuego FC launched its own women’s program last year and also revealed plans for a stadium at Blackbeard’s near Fresno Yosemite International Airport.
Before Fuego FC, the city had Fresno FC from 2017 to 2019. The team stopped playing in Fresno in 2019 after being unable to build a soccer-specific stadium and relocated to Monterey in 2021.
The city previously explored plans to build a stadium for Fuego FC in the parking lot of Selland Arena in 2021.