New team, soccer facility set for Indianapolis

Just 10 or 15 years ago, professional soccer teams struggled to find adequate places to play.

That was back in the day when most Major League Soccer teams played as renters inside … well, inside whatever ground they could find, often NFL stadiums that fit about as well as a Hollywood fat suit on a supermodel.

In the next tiers down the domestic pro soccer ladder, clubs were playing in high school stadiums, which were seldom large enough to accommodate a properly sized field.

Fast forward to today … and now we can’t crank up the internet without seeing the latest accounts of a spanking new soccer ground going up, swell facilities worthy of professional soccer. How sweet is that!

Yesterday, of course, brought news of Big Apple dreams: Richard Farley told you about the Cosmos’ ambitious plans.

Today, as the college and professional soccer world converge on Indianapolis, soccer leaders in the city took the opportunity to announce that the NASL (the second tier of U.S. pro soccer) had approved a new club to begin play in Indiana’s largest city in 2014.

The club will play at the IU Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium, which is about to undergo significant changes.  An artist rendering of the facility’s new look is seen in the photo above.