An ambitious new chapter in American soccer expansion could unfold on a vacant plot in Mesa, Arizona, the former site of a Sears-anchored shopping mall. Vicki Mayo, a local businesswoman spearheading the effort, envisions a fully enclosed, natural-grass 25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium on the site, located a 20-minute drive from downtown Phoenix without traffic.
Stadium Aims at NWSL and MLS
The stadium and early expansion efforts appear primarily aimed at securing a team from the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Mayo noted that 20,000 people have signed a fan initiative supporting a women's team for the venue. However, she is also open to hosting a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise. “I think a world in which we have men’s soccer, women’s soccer, concerts we are able to host … I think that’s a success,” Mayo said.
Mesa Mayor Mark Freeman has expressed enthusiasm for top-tier soccer, citing both MLS and women's soccer in previous interviews. The city's willingness to court professional teams aligns with Mayo's vision.
Funding and Development Plans
In early 2024, Palo District LLC, one of Mayo's companies, entered a long-term lease with a purchase option for an 80-acre plot in West Mesa. The stadium plans, designed by architecture firm Gensler, are complete. Mayo expects to break ground in summer 2025, with a target completion date of 2028.
To finance the project, the Mesa City Council unanimously designated the site a “theme park district,” allowing Palo District to levy a transaction privilege tax and issue bonds. This structure avoids direct taxpayer burden, Mayo emphasized. “The theme park district legislation was built specifically to help create a system where you can get bond financing, but not put the burden necessarily on the taxpayers,” she said.
Mayo's Background and Ownership Ambitions
Mayo, a Georgia native and daughter of an Indian immigrant, grew up in Sedona, Arizona, where she started a travel agency as a teenager. Today, she and her husband Simer own Mayo Global, a conglomerate of several companies. Mayo also spent five years as a stakeholder in the Rajasthan Royals, an Indian Premier League cricket team that sold for over $1.6 billion earlier this year. The couple would be majority owners of any NWSL or MLS team in Mesa.
Mayo declined to confirm discussions with either league, though an NWSL spokesperson stated the league continues “a deliberate, rolling expansion process with a number of world-class potential ownership groups.”
Challenges and Local Context
Phoenix already hosts Phoenix Rising, a men's second-division USL Championship club that previously pursued MLS entry but faced stadium hurdles. Rising withdrew from plans to join the USL Super League in 2024. Mayo expressed goodwill toward the existing club but focused on her own project. “Our goal was always to build the highest levels of infrastructure to bring the highest levels of soccer into the state,” she said.
The enclosed stadium design could accommodate both NWSL's current calendar and MLS's upcoming shift to a European-style schedule, potentially making the desert location viable year-round. With a funding plan and site secured, top-flight soccer in the Phoenix metro area appears more practical than ever.
