Baltimore’s push to bring professional soccer to Carroll Park took a major step forward this week, with Mayor Brandon Scott and NBA legend Carmelo Anthony publicly backing a proposed $300 million-plus stadium and academy project led by D.C. United. The development would anchor an MLS NEXT Pro club in the city, add a prospective USL Super League women’s team, and create a fully integrated youth-to-pro pathway that reflects a broader shift in American soccer.
Under legislation introduced in Annapolis, the Maryland Stadium Authority would be authorized to issue up to $216.6 million in bonds for land acquisition and construction at the city-owned Carroll Park Golf Course, with debt service paid from state sports betting revenues. D.C. United co‑owner Jason Levien has pegged the overall project cost at more than $300 million, with the club contributing roughly $100 million in private capital. The initial stadium design calls for about 12,000 seats with the ability to expand to 25,000, which would make it Baltimore’s first soccer‑specific venue and a potential hub for additional mixed‑use development across the 80‑acre site.
Scott’s endorsement came alongside a broader branding push around “BMore United Day” on March 7, when D.C. United will host Inter Miami in a one‑off match at M&T Bank Stadium as part of the club’s effort to deepen ties in Baltimore. Anthony, a Baltimore native and former Puerto Rico FC owner, is investing in the project and is expected to play a hands‑on role in the women’s team component, signaling an intent to elevate both men’s and women’s professional pathways in the region. For Baltimore, which has long been mentioned as an attractive but underutilized soccer market, the plan represents a chance to pair civic revitalization goals with a higher‑profile soccer footprint.
Of interest to families and players not just locally but potentially nationwide, the proposal goes beyond a stadium to include a full academy complex on the same footprint, directly tied into D.C. United’s existing development structure. The club already operates its “Pathway 2 Pro” program with partner youth clubs across the D.C.–Maryland–Virginia corridor, offering a route from local teams into its academy and eventually to pro contracts with its USL and MLS sides. Locating an MLS NEXT Pro team and academy in Baltimore would extend that model north, giving players in central Maryland a clearer in‑market route from U‑12 and U‑14 identification through MLS NEXT, MLS NEXT Pro and, for a select few, the MLS first team.
League‑wide, the project is also a case study in how MLS clubs are using MLS NEXT Pro to test new markets and de‑risk potential expansion plays. Since launching in 2022, the developmental league has increasingly been used not only to bridge the gap between academies and first teams, but also to plant flags in secondary markets with strong soccer cultures. In Baltimore’s case, Levien has framed the initiative as both a commercial opportunity and a talent‑development investment that could reduce reliance on transfer spending by producing more homegrown players. If state funding is approved, D.C. United is targeting a 2027 groundbreaking and could bring a Baltimore‑based MLS NEXT Pro side online even before the stadium opens, accelerating the city’s emergence as a new node in the growing U.S. youth pathway network.