Steve Malik’s “Downtown South” Not Worth the Investment
By Tyler Young
NCFC Owner Announces New “Downtown South” Complex
North Carolina Football Club and North Carolina Courage owner Steve Malik, Kane Realty, and Trademark Properties announced their plans for a new entertainment and sports development called Downtown South. The centerpiece of the planned development in Southeast Raleigh would be a 20,000 seat stadium, which would house NCFC and the NC Courage.
The plan is interesting and if successful, would be awesome for the city and the club. Unfortunately, Raleigh is not ready for a downtown stadium right now. There are a lot of reasons why this plan won’t work, no matter how much we all want it too.
Downtown South Has a Lack of Infrastructure
Even with the added residential areas, the downtown Raleigh area does not have enough people to support a 20,000 seat stadium. Meaning that the team will have to draw from the surrounding areas and suburbs. The problem lies in the lack of transit options for those in the outlying areas.
Raleigh currently has no light rail or subway type mass transit option in the city, much less for the surrounding towns where fans may travel from. Parking is already a nightmare downtown, adding the 20,000 that the stadium expects to draw will only make that situation worse. Major mass transit overhauls are needed before a development like this is even feasible for the area.
Downtown South Lacks Drawing Power
The renderings present an absolutely beautiful stadium reminiscent of Allianz Field in Minnesota. The stadium would truly be a setting worthy of hosting the best women’s team in the world as well as a future MLS club. Unfortunately, the drawing power is not there for either club.
Last season, the courage won a treble that included both NWSL Shield and Championship as well as International Champions Cup Women’s Tournament. That season they averaged a home attendance of 5,129. while that was good for fourth in the NWSL, that was little over half of the current stadium. The Men fared even worse, drawing in only 4,730 per game in their first season in the USL.
Those numbers do not depict support that would support a 20,000 seat stadium in a downtown setting. If the stadium is supposed to be the centerpiece of this development, it would likely need an MLS tenant to make it a worthy investment. With a Raleigh expansion club looking less and less likely, the stadium would end up being a wasted investment in an oversized home for its tenants.
Steve Malik’s Past Promises are Counter to What He’s Looking for Now
The biggest problem with the Downtown South plan announced this week is that Malik is now asking for $13 Million per year for the next 30 years in interlocal funds. This goes against what he said when this plan was first announced back in 2017. Going from “no taxpayer money, just the public land” to “$13 Million in taxpayer funds are needed for this” is a massive change in message.
I simply don’t see how the plans as they currently are presented can make back that investment for taxpayers. as Much as I want it to work, and as much as I believe that NCFC, The NC Courage, and the Triangle deserves a facility like the one presented in renderings, the plan as currently presented is a half-baked and costly use of public lands and funds.