{"id":162566,"date":"2026-04-10T17:55:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T17:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/162566\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T17:55:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T17:55:21","slug":"lehigh-valley-to-get-pro-indoor-soccer-team-at-ppl-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/162566\/","title":{"rendered":"Lehigh Valley to get pro indoor soccer team at PPL Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014 The Lehigh Valley soon will be home to a professional indoor soccer team.<\/p>\n

The Major Arena Soccer League<\/a> announced Thursday that league owners have approved a team for Allentown, with play set to begin this fall at PPL Center. The first game is scheduled for Dec. 5.<\/p>\n

The announcement came during a news conference at the arena, where team ownership and league officials outlined plans for the franchise.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe MASL takes the popular game of soccer, it condenses it, which intensifies,\u201d said Jim Brooks, whose Brooks Sports Group will own and operate the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt speeds up the pace, lots of shots, lots of saves, lots of goals, full excitement, the whole game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Find the right fit\u2019<\/p>\n

Brooks said the organization had long sought a second tenant for PPL Center that could complement the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and connect with the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe looked at basketball, we looked at indoor football, indoor lacrosse, indoor soccer and many other sports and activities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s not an easy task, because we want to find the right fit for PPL Center and for the Lehigh Valley.\u201d<\/p>\n

League Commissioner Keith Tozer said the region is well-positioned to support the sport as soccer continues to grow nationwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing better than the time right now, [and the] timing for soccer right here in Lehigh Valley,\u201d Tozer said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis building, the atmosphere and the community provides a perfect foundation for professional indoor soccer to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also pointed to the ownership group as a key factor in the league\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis building, the atmosphere and the community provides a perfect foundation for professional indoor soccer to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keith Tozer, MASL commissioner<\/p>\n

\"MA\"<\/p>\n

Stephanie Sigafoos<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

LehighValleyNews.com<\/p>\n

The Major Arena Soccer League is advertised inside the PPL Center during a press conference Thursday. Allentown will get a team in MASL’s premiere league, with the home opener Dec. 5, 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey bring integrity. They bring character. They bring professionalism,” Tozer said. “They bring vision.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are disciplined, thoughtful and deeply committed, not just to building a successful organization, but by doing it the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n

A broader investment<\/p>\n

State Sen. Nick Miller, D-Lehigh\/Northampton, said the timing aligns with broader investment and momentum in downtown Allentown.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe timing couldn\u2019t be better on this,\u201d Miller said. \u201cWe think about all the exciting things that we have going on in downtown Allentown.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Allentown team will compete in MASL\u2019s top tier, the premier division. It will be the second MASL-affiliated team in Pennsylvania, though a team name has not yet been announced.<\/p>\n

The Harrisburg Heat recently relocated to Hersheypark Arena and compete in MASL 2<\/a>, part of the league\u2019s tiered development system.<\/p>\n

\"MASL<\/p>\n

Stephanie Sigafoos<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

LehighValleyNews.com<\/p>\n

Lehigh Valley is advertised on the LED ribbon inside PPL Center during an announcement Thursday. PPL Center will be home to a new MASL team with the home opener Dec. 5. <\/p>\n

MASL operates a multi-level structure designed to move players from amateur competition to the professional ranks, with two developmental levels beneath its top division. <\/p>\n

The league also operates a women\u2019s division.<\/p>\n

Games are played six-on-six with five field players and a goalkeeper on an artificial turf field surrounded by boards. Matches feature four 15-minute quarters, unlimited substitutions and power play penalties.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are excited to announce we have purchased a team, and we\u2019ll be moving it here, opening here in Lehigh Valley this coming fall,\u201d Brooks said.<\/p>\n

A team name and additional details are expected to be announced in the coming months.<\/p>\n

To place a deposit and secure season tickets for the team\u2019s inaugural season, visit Lehigh Valley + Major Arena Soccer League<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014 The Lehigh Valley soon will be home to a professional indoor soccer team. The Major…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":162567,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,73370,73369,120,73371,73372,73373],"class_list":["post-162566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-major-arena-soccer-league","tag-allentown-masl-team","tag-allentown-news","tag-major-arena-soccer-league-allentown","tag-ppl-center-allentown-indoor-soccer","tag-ppl-center-masl-team"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162566"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162566\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}