[caption id="attachment_557392" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Jim Kacmarcik
Credit: Jake Hill[/caption]
Now that the deal between
Milwaukee Pro Soccer and the
USL Championship league has been finalized, next steps for the franchise include recruiting a team of local owners.
"We’ll have a pretty significant ownership group when it's all said and done," said Jim Kacmarcik, chairman and chief executive officer of
Kacmarcik Enterprises, second-generation owner of Grafton-based Kapco Metal Stamping and head of the Milwaukee Pro Soccer ownership group.
It was
announced Wednesday that the future professional soccer team will be part of the USL Championship league, the second-highest level of professional soccer in the U.S. behind Major League Soccer. Starting in 2025, Milwaukee’s USL expansion team will play home games at the proposed mixed-use Iron District's 8,000-seat stadium.
Speaking to BizTimes after the announcement, Kacmarcik said the work of putting together a local ownership group will start in about a month, but he's already seeing strong interest.
"There’s a ton of people calling already," he said.
Kacmarcik Enterprises and Kenosha-based
Bear Development are partners in the $160 million Iron District project, which is planned for an 11-acre plot of land at West Michigan and North Eighth streets northeast of the Marquette Interchange. In addition to the soccer stadium, the entertainment district will include a full-service boutique hotel, a 3,500-capacity indoor concert venue operated by the Pabst Theater Group, a 140-unit residential development, retail and restaurants.
Kacmarcik also owns the
Forward Madison FC pro soccer team, which launched in 2019 as a charter member of the division III USL League One, and he's a minority owner of the Milwaukee Bucks. He's wanted to bring a professional soccer team to Milwaukee for several years.
As far as putting together the team itself, Kacmarcik said the franchise will start building out its front office soon and at about one year out from the start of the 2025 season, the club will have a general manager who will be working to scout players and sign contracts.
"That's the fun part. Right now, we're getting shovels into the ground," he said.
Milwaukee Pro Soccer has launched a public
campaign to name the team. Fans can submit their ideas by filling out a brief online survey. The input will also be used to inform decisions around the team’s crest, colors and overall aesthetic.
"This is your team, it’s all for the city of Milwaukee," Kacmarcik said Wednesday.
