$38.6 million - this is the estimated cost of a new soccer venue for the Greenville Triumph. The facility is to be built in Mauldin, South Carolina, USA.

The Greenville Triumph team has been in existence for three years and competes in the USL League One, the third tier of competition in the USA. Since its founding, the team has played its matches at Legacy Early College Field. This is a 4,000-seat stadium. That's not enough for club owner Joe Erwin.

The entrepreneur knew in advance that he had to find a new home for the club. Over the past year, he has analyzed more than 40 plots, but finding the adequate acreage with the right access is difficult. It's no coincidence that the choice of location fell to Mauldin.

© McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture

Owner of the club assures that most of the tickets for the games of Triumph are bought by the residents of this particular neighborhood. "Why not bring the game to the people who are most likely to come?”, Erwin said. Overall, the club is third in terms of average attendance in the USL League One, despite other clubs having larger stadiums.

The stadium is to be built on land that is part of BridgeWay Station, a multi-phase, mixed-use development that combines residential and commercial uses. Even if more and more customers are using online shopping and buying products such as a zorb ball, the in-store shopping is not going to disappear completely. That is why places like BridgeWay Station, with shops and restaurants, are still being created.

Research conducted by the club has shown that fans who come to Triumph games are most interested in spending a day away from home. First they want to eat dinner in a restaurant, then come to see the match, and after the game some of them want to go for a drink or bowling. The BridgeWay Station seems the best option.

The stadium is expected to have a 8,100 capacity. But - even though it will be a soccer venue - the Triumph men and women team's games are supposed to be only a part of the events at the facility. "We see, by the end of year two, 150 events a year. About a third of those events will be soccer", the club owner said. The future venue can host youth soccer playoffs, concerts, festivals and other sports played on a rectangular field, like football, rugby or lacrosse.

© McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture

The facility could be built in cooperation with the Greenville County and the City of Mauldin. Out of a total of $38.6 million, Joe Erwin offered to finance the seating and other specific items for the stadium's use, totaling $18.25 million. But the completed stadium will be owned by Greenville County. So will 6 acres of land that will first be donated to the club by BridgeWay Station developer Phil Hughes and then in turn will go to the county.

The next step is negotiations between Joe Erwin and the Mauldin City Council to determine who is responsible for what financially. The idea is to define responsibility for the various phases of the project, including supplying utilities, construction, management and maintenance.

The highlight of the Triumph owner proposal is a projected impact of $270 million in economic development in the first decade of use of the stadium. The club is supposed to be the one that maintains the facility and pays $350,000 in annual lease for 30 years.

Construction of the venue could begin in April of this year and the yet-to-be-named stadium in Greenville County could have its first games in 2023.