Plans for a soccer stadium are still way off, but the proposed rezoning allows some development to move forward while stadium discussions continue.
FortWorth
Fort Worth
The Fort Worth City Council could lay the groundwork to allow development at the site long thought to be the future home of a proposed soccer complex near Interstate 35W and Basswood Boulevard.
The council will consider a zoning change Tuesday that would allow commercial and residential development while the city considers whether to build a soccer complex, said council member Alan Blaylock, whose district includes the property.
Developers DR Horton and Peleton Land Solutions have been meeting with area neighborhood associations to address concerns about the potential development.
The plan would allow the developer to move forward with commercial and residential developments on the north, west and southern portions of the property, which are the farthest from neighborhoods, Blaylock said.
The Fort Worth sports commission first explored creating a 20-field youth soccer complex in 2019. A commission study predicted a youth facility could bring as many as 100,00 visitors annually and $16 million to Fort Worth.
Former Fort Worth council member Cary Moon also proposed building a 10,000-seat stadium at the site, which could host a semi-professional soccer team and be used by the Keller school district.
The rezoning gives the area neighborhoods the best of both worlds, said Rusty Fuller, president of the North Fort Worth Alliance.
Some of the land still could be used to build soccer fields, but Fuller said the proposed zoning plan allows the community to have more input on what that would look like.
“This is an excellent example of the communities working together with the developers to come up with a plan,” Fuller said.
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Harrison Mantas covers the city of Fort Worth’s government, agencies and people. He previously covered fact-checking and misinformation at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, as well as local, state, and federal politics in Phoenix, Arizona and Washington, D.C. He likes to live tweet city hall meetings, and help his fellow Fort Worthians figure out what’s going on. Reach him by email at hmantas@star-telegram.com, Twitter @HarrisonMantas, or by phone at 817-390-7040.
