Greenville Pro Soccer LLC will seek $14 million from Greenville County’s hospitality and accommodations tax fund for upgrades to its planned stadium at BridgeWay Station in Mauldin.
An informal request was made during a meeting of the Greenville County Council Finance Committee on Nov. 18. There was no vote on the matter. The presentation to the committee made it clear the stadium would be built even if the county declined to contribute.
Greenville Pro Soccer is the parent company of Greenville Triumph SC and Greenville Liberty. On Oct. 30, it announced plans for a 10,000-seat, multipurpose facility at the Bridges Road exit of Interstate 385. The financial partners at the time of the announcement included Greenville Pro Soccer, the state of South Carolina and the city of Mauldin. Hughes Investments, which owns BridgeWay Station, is providing the land.
The final cost of construction is expected to be $80 million to $100 million. Joe Erwin, chairman and co-founder of Greenville Triumph SC and Greenville Liberty, told the Finance Committee $45 million would come from private funding. The state has committed $10 million. Mauldin City Council gave initial approval during its meeting on Nov. 18 to contribute $4.25 million from its hospitality and accommodations tax fund.
Hospitality and accommodations taxes are collected from prepared food and on-site beverage sales, and from hotel bookings. The money collected is used to benefit tourism at the discretion of state and local governments.
Erwin said the $14 million in upgrades would allow the stadium to compete for more events, bringing in additional tax revenue to offset the county’s investment. Those upgrades include: concert infrastructure, including a stage; additional locker rooms to host multiteam tournaments; enclosed suites, which Erwin said are required to bid for certain NCAA events; a field turf protection system; and a hybrid turf system.
Related: Mauldin advances $4.25M bond issue to support stadium: City Council notes
Both Erwin and Heath Dillard, CEO of VisitGreenvilleSC, told the committee the intent was to “make the building sweat” – in essence, keep it booked for as many dates as possible. Triumph and Liberty games only account for about two dozen dates per year.
VisitGreenvilleSC is tasked with driving tourism and visitation to the city of Greenville and Greenville County. Dillard emphasized his organization’s support for the plan, which he said would boost both economic development and quality of life.
Upgrades to the stadium would also make it possible for both the Triumph and Liberty to move to higher leagues, Erwin said. The Triumph currently play in USL League One, the third tier of men’s professional soccer. The Liberty play in the women’s pre-professional USL W League. He said the men could move up the USL Championship, the second tier of professional soccer in the U.S., and the women’s team could move to a professional level.
Greenville Triumph SC first brought a stadium plan to Greenville County Council in 2022, at the time seeking majority funding from the county. The Finance Committee struck it down and sent the Triumph back to the drawing board. Since that time, it reorganized under Greenville Pro Soccer LLC and brought in additional investors.
“We’re better off for not succeeding two years ago,” Erwin said.
Groundbreaking for the stadium, which will be located near the intersection of Holland and Bridges roads in Mauldin, is planned for early 2025. Construction is expected to be complete by mid-2026 in time for the FIFA World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. It is considered soccer’s most prestigious tournament and has expanded to include 48 international teams. Some of the matches will be played in Atlanta.
