The Detroit City Council approved the Detroit City Football Club’s 15,000-seat and 421-space parking deck with a 76-unit apartment building of affordable housing at the site of the former Southwest Detroit Hospital in Southwest Detroit.
DCFC received the necessary approvals to move forward with the development of the AlumniFi Field on Tuesday (Nov. 25).
Detroit City FC agreed to over $2 million in financial contributions and other commitments over the next 12 years as part of the recently completed Neighborhood Advisory Council’s Community Benefits Agreement.
The incentives approved by the Detroit City Council and a state board are said to provide development incentives, the bulk of which would come from a $74.2 million brownfield tax capture over the next 30 years to help underwrite demolition of the Southwest Detroit Hospital site clean-up, as well as construction of the 421-car parking deck and the 76-unit apartment building all of which are affordable units.
The privately owned stadium will be the only professional sports stadium to contribute to the city’s tax base from the very beginning.
Highlights of the 12-year Community Benefits Agreement include:
- Contribute $100,000 per year ($1.2 million total) to organizations that specialize in safe, habitable homes, cultural programming, and youth education, selected by the neighborhood council.
- $200,000 low-interest loan fund to support small businesses.
- Retail space dedicated to a small business incubator for Detroit entrepreneurs, with pathways for Detroit vendors to be concessionaires in the venue.
- Give first priority to job applicants in the surrounding zip codes.
- Establish a minimum wage of $ 17 per hour for all stadium employees.
- Provide 3,000 complimentary tickets to residents each year.
- Create a mini-pitch soccer field for youth in the impact area and a youth mentorship program focused on sports careers.
- $50,000 for cultural and artistic installations focused on the history of the area and Southwest Hospital.
- Provide 76 affordable housing units reserved for residents earning between 40%-80% of the area median income.
- Create a traffic management plan that will be reviewed after 3 years, a plan to ensure safe entry and exit of fans, plus an acoustics study to mitigate noise impacts.
- Provide an incentive for visitors and employees who use nonmotorized transit to access the stadium.
- Improvements and beautification of the 20th Street viaduct.
Site preparation and abatement at the vacant Southwest Detroit Hospital site have already begun, with full demolition of the hospital scheduled for the next few weeks.
The Detroit City Football Club’s owners are working to have the new stadium ready for the 2027 United Soccer League season, and ticket deposits are now being accepted at alumnififield.com.
--> Renderings revealed for Detroit City Football Club’s new AlumniFi Field, set for 2027 launch