The Iowa Economic Development board today approved $23.5 million for a pro soccer stadium and other developments that will transform the former Dico Inc. site downtown into a mixed-use and entertainment district.

The board unanimously approved the final application for funding from the Iowa Reinvestment Act, allowing the Iowa Soccer Development Foundation to move forward with plans to build a 6,300-seat stadium that will meet United Soccer League Standards as organizations look to bring a franchise to Des Moines.

According to IEDA documents, the multiuse stadium will sit on the 38-acre Superfund site south of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and east of Fleur Drive. The ISDF will own the facility, while a separate entity will operate the stadium. The IEDA award will be issued to the city of Des Moines with any bonding that may be needed being done by the foundation.

The estimated cost of the stadium and Global Plaza is about $95 million. A funding gap of about $19.85 million remains. Listed in the IEDA documents are sources of funding for the project, including Kyle and Sharon Krause ($23.5 million), corporate and private grants ($14.4 million), an IRA bridge loan ($16 million), Polk County ($10.5 million), and an unnamed source ($3.25 million).

The foundation submitted its preliminary application for the $95 million project in 2021. The final application includes updates to account for changing economic conditions and minor changes to design to keep the project within budget, Dan Jansen, the nonprofit foundation’s program manager, said in August.

Jansen attended today’s meeting but did not speak.

The soccer stadium and Global Plaza are part of a larger Capital City Reinvestment District, which will “reimagine blighted, vacant and brownfield sites in the heart of Des Moines and replace them with mixed-use neighborhoods,” IEDA documents state.

In all, the redevelopment of the area will represent more than $293 million in investment, IEDA documents show.

The Capital City Reinvestment District will be composed of three hubs: the Stadium Neighborhood, Western Gateway and Gray’s Landing. The hubs will be connected by pedestrian-friendly corridors, the documents state.

The Global Plaza will be a 4-acre gathering space with recreational trails connecting to the surrounding district and nearby residential development, as well as downtown amenities.

The Stadium Neighborhood will also include an eight-story hotel on 1.5 acres off Tuttle Street. Other plans include a convenience store at the southwest corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and Southwest 16th Street.

IEDA documents show that Krause+, the development arm of the Krause Group, has plans to build an “entertainment/“eater-tainment” facility with indoor and outdoor space on nearly 3 acres off Tuttle Street.

Krause+ also has plans to build a five-story hotel west of 15th Street between Ingersoll Avenue and High Street in the Western Gateway area. The site is currently home to a small two-story office building.

The documents also show that Krause+ plans to develop 14 mixed-use projects that will be a combination of more than 263,000 square feet of retail space and nearly 840,000 square feet of residential and office space.

Sherman Associates’ long-term plans include a mixed-use development with a grocery anchor, another office building and more multi-family housing, officials with the company said.

The IEDA’s approval contains conditions that construction financing for the stadium and Global Plaza be secured by Aug. 1, 2025, and that financing for the Stadium Hotel, convenience store and entertainment venue be secured by March 31, 2026, the Western Gateway hotel by May 31, 2026.

It also sets a completion date for the stadium and plaza of Jan. 1, 2028, when sales tax and hotel/motel tax will start being collected, IEDA officials said during the meeting.

Debi Durham, director of IEDA, called the project “transformational” for Des Moines.

“This has taken a long time to get here because it is complicated, but I would say that it checks all the boxes,” she said during the meeting. “This is truly what the [Iowa Reinvestment Act] was set up to do. This is a transformational project, not only for Des Moines but for the state of Iowa.”

This version CORRECTS Sherman Associates’ plan and deletes outdated references about their plans for the Gray’s Landing development.