INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Plans to bring a Major League Soccer team to Indianapolis took another step forward Wednesday as city planners gave final approval to a tax district to support a stadium.

Wednesday’s 6-1 vote by the Metropolitan Development Commission formally rescinded the city’s original tax district proposal based around the planned Eleven Park and instead sends state officials a new set of tax district boundaries based on a stadium at the site of the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport. The new set of boundaries is shifted to the east, excluding the site of the old Diamond Chain factory, where Indy Eleven owner Ersal Ozdemir has been trying to build Eleven Park.

Chief Deputy Mayor Dan Parker said no general fund revenue would go toward building or maintaining a stadium He said city officials have talked to Holcomb Administration officials and state lawmakers about the new site, though those discussions have not been in depth since the commission had not yet approved the plan. He said Wednesday’s vote is the first step toward making an MLS team a reality.

“Major League Soccer does complement everything else that we currently have here,” he said. “Most of the cities that we compete with have Major League Soccer and we do not.”

The vote means city officials have done all they can for now to attract an MLS expansion team. Mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration has said officials can’t do anything further unless MLS awards an expansion team for which to build a stadium. The Democrat mayor on Wednesday said that process is up to the group of investors working to bring a team to town. He said his administration has not been part of the discussions about who the team’s potential owners will be. Hogsett said it will be up to MLS to vet those investors as part of the expansion team approval process. He said the league prioritizes strong local investment in teams whenever possible.

Some Indy Eleven supporters have criticized the city for walking away from the Eleven Park project, saying leaders haven’t clearly explained why they did so. City Councilor Kristin Jones, whose district includes both the old and new stadium sites, said even council members like her have been left in the dark about who will fund the stadium or whether eminent domain would be used to buy out a historic property nearby.

“No one’s calling me, no one’s talking to me. No one’s talking to Indy Eleven, who is the premier soccer league in the city,” she said.

The State Budget Committee will make the final decision whether or not to approve the tax district. Parker told the commission if state officials reject the tax district, the city’s MLS bid would be dead and there would be no further efforts toward a stadium. City officials said they don’t expect the committee to take up the matter before August.

Previous coverage

• Indianapolis pursues Major League Soccer team
• How much would an MLS expansion team cost in Indianapolis?
• Indy Eleven owner ‘surprised’ by mayor’s goal to pursue MLS team
• Leader of fans group: Hogsett’s MLS goal could jeopardize Indy Eleven’s future
• Many steps to go on plan for Major League Soccer stadium
• Hogsett: Major League Soccer an ‘opportunity we cannot pass up’
• Preservationists call Hogsett’s Eleven Park proposal ‘best possible option
• Fate of human remains at center of soccer stadium fight
• Building owner at potential MLS stadium site refuses to sell

Statement

“When I flew to New York City to meet with Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber in April, he made clear the City’s role in securing an expansion club was creating the financing framework for a soccer-specific stadium on an appropriate site. Today, I was proud to see the Metropolitan Development Commission vote overwhelmingly to confirm a stadium development district at the Downtown Heliport, marking the final step in the local legislative process ahead of the July 1 deadline outlined by state law. We look forward to having conversations with members of the State Budget Committee later this summer as we continue the effort to secure a Major League Soccer expansion club for Indianapolis and solidify our status as the greatest sports host city in the world.”

Mayor Joe Hogsett, a Democrat