John Doyle, a former U.S. standout star who helped build the San Jose Earthquakes into a Major League Soccer model franchise, didn’t have to leave the Bay Area where he born, raised and saw great success as a college and pro player.

But he and his wife, Kaarin, moved to Reno three weeks ago with one big goal in mind — to bring professional soccer back to Reno.

Doyle is part of the four-person ownership team behind Reno Pro Soccer, which announced earlier this month it had purchased the former Jones West Ford property where it plans to build an $80 million soccer stadium and entertainment district that would be home to a USL team.

Also part of the group are Todd Davis, the principal owner and investor; Wendy Damonte, the CEO and an Emmy and Edward R. Murrow award-winning news anchor; and Bob Enzenberger, the deputy CEO and general counsel. Doyle, who played in the Olympics, the World Cup and served as San Jose’s general manager from 2007-16, brings the soccer expertise from his playing and administrative background where he also oversaw the construction of the Earthquakes’ Avaya Stadium.

“We’re gonna bring professional soccer to this area,” Doyle said on Wednesday’s NSN Tonight. “It’s a great time to be a soccer fan.”

While a few groups have tried to bring pro soccer back to Northern Nevada since Reno 1868 FC folded in 2020 after four seasons, Reno Pro Soccer has made the most progress to date, not only buying the Jones West Ford property but also an adjacent piece of land where it plans to build the state’s first soccer-only stadium plus a surrounding entertainment district on the roughly 30-acre plot of land. Doyle was first approached by Damonte more than three years ago.

“She talked me into it at the start, and then my wife and I fell in love with Reno,” Doyle said. “We think it’s a great place. We think it’s a great opportunity to do something great for the community. I’ve traveled all over Reno looking at different sites, and when we settled on the old Jones West on Kietzke (Lane), I was like, ‘This is phenomenal. This is a perfect site for soccer in a beautiful stadium.'”

Doyle, who would serve as the president of soccer operations for the new USL team, said he was drawn to the project because of the group’s vision and ambition.

“You want to be around like-minded people and people who wanna achieve something,” Doyle said. “I was lucky enough to be in a startup company. The San Jose Earthquakes were sold and moved to Houston, and then we brought back a team. So, I started that from ground zero. From scratch, we started the team and that was exciting. We were able to build a stadium. So, I’ve done this all before. But I think it’s just a great opportunity, and again, it’s the people, the community. My wife and I have been here for now three weeks, and it’s just a great community. We love the area. We’re really enjoying our time here and really looking forward to bringing a team.”

The group is expected to hold a news conference at the former Jones West Ford site Thursday where it will reveal more details about the planned stadium, which is expected to have a capacity of 5,000 to 7,000 fans. If all goes to plan, the team could be playing in the outside artificial-turf stadium as soon as 2027

Sitting in the city core, the project could tap into tax-increment financing (TIF), which was approved for the $435 million GSR Arena project that sits 3 miles north on the other side of the I-580 freeway. After assessing several locations, including the South Valleys Regional Park, the group settled on a more central location.

“The site is great because it’s easy to get to,” Doyle said. “There’s plenty of parking with the Atlantis there, plenty of extra parking. I think to revitalize an area is very important, and I think the area’s down a little bit, especially our site. We need to improve that area. There’s plenty of room for a stadium. That’s always your concern that you’re not gonna have room to put a stadium in that you like. I think people can get there. That shouldn’t be difficult. And then just the amenities and the village that we’d like to bring, the whole project should be around $100 million, so it should be an exciting place for fans to go watch a soccer game and concerts and other events.”

The group is expected to soon launch a fan survey on its RenoProSoccer.com website to name the team and pick its colors and crest. Now 59 years old, Doyle wore the Team USA crest, making 53 caps for the national team between 1987-94. He played for Team USA in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Korea and two years later played in the 1990 World Cup hosted by Italy, with that being Team USA’s first appearance in that tournament since 1934.

Doyle was the 1996 MLS Defender of the Year and assembled the Earthquakes’ roster that won the 2012 MLS Supporters’ Shield while serving as San Jose’s general manager for a decade. Doyle is in the University of San Francisco Hall of Fame and San Jose Sports Hall of Fame. He also scored one of Team USA’s most famous goals of the 1990s in the American’s “dos a cero” victory over Mexico in the 1991 Gold Cup.

“Getting to play in the World Cup, the greatest sporting event that’s held in the world, that was a great honor,” Doyle said. “I always thought if I played in that, I made it. The ’88 Olympics. Growing up and watching the Olympics was a bigger deal in my family, so getting to play in the Olympics was big. But my favorite moment is the Gold Cup. United States played Mexico in ’91 and I scored the game-winning goal against Mexico. We hadn’t beat Mexico in years, and we went on to win the Gold Cup, so that was my best memory.”

And now he’s looking to make more memories by bringing pro soccer back to Northern Nevada.

You can watch our full interview with John Doyle below.