Ruoff Mortgage Stadium – stadium description

What is Ruoff Mortgage Stadium like in a nutshell?

Fort Wayne FC was founded in 2019 and joined USL League Two in 2021. However, the club had ambitions of competing at the professional level and building its own stadium – and quickly set about achieving both goals.

The new stadium was built on the western outskirts of Fort Wayne between 2025 and 2026. Its opening coincided with the club's debut season in the professional USL League One in 2026.

The venue has a distinctly soccer-specific design. The stands – tall and covered along three sides of the field – form a “U” shape, while the area behind the south goal remains open and accommodates only a few rows of seating. The stadium has a capacity of 9,200 spectators.

How did Ruoff Mortgage Stadium come about?

When was Fort Wayne FC founded?

A new soccer club, Fort Wayne FC, was established in 2019. The team was initially set to join the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), but after the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it ultimately entered USL League Two (effectively the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid) for the 2021 season.

The club's principal owner became Mark Music, president and owner of Ruoff Mortgage, a company specializing in residential mortgage lending. The ownership group also included Fort Wayne native DaMarcus Beasley, a former United States international who represented his country at four FIFA World Cups.

The team's first home venue was Shields Field at Bishop Dwenger High School, where it played during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. From 2023 to 2025, the club played at Bishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium on the campus of the University of Saint Francis. Both were modest facilities, well below the standards expected for a club aspiring to compete at the professional level.

When were the plans for a new Fort Wayne FC stadium developed?

From the outset, the club had ambitions of moving up to the professional USL League One and building its own soccer-specific stadium. As early as 2021, a site on the western outskirts of the city was purchased for around $2 million, intended for the future development of the venue.

The first concrete reports about Fort Wayne FC’s stadium project emerged in March 2024, when the plans were presented to local authorities. On 4 November 2024, the club officially announced its intention to build a new stadium and unveiled the first visual renderings.

To deliver the project, the club partnered with developer BND Commercial, while the architectural design was handled by Design Collaborative. On 24 February 2025, it was also announced that the club would join USL League One for the 2026 season.

The Fort Wayne FC stadium project can be viewed on a separate subpage

When was the new Fort Wayne FC stadium built?

Construction of the new stadium began in April 2025. The venue was scheduled to be ready for the start of the 2026 season, in which Fort Wayne FC made its debut in USL League One. However, the project experienced some delays, meaning the club had to play its first five matches of the season away from home.

The stadium was inaugurated on 2 May 2026, with a match against Charlotte Independence ending in a 2–2 draw. As construction was still ongoing at the time, the stadium’s capacity was temporarily limited to 4,000 spectators.

Shortly before the opening, on 2 April 2026, it was announced that the naming rights had been acquired by Ruoff Mortgage, a company owned by the club’s principal shareholder. As a result, the stadium was named Ruoff Mortgage Stadium.

A construction report on the Fort Wayne FC stadium can be found on a separate subpage

What does Ruoff Mortgage Stadium look like?

The stadium has a distinctly soccer-specific design, with stands tailored to a rectangular playing field. Tall, covered stands are located on three sides of the pitch, forming a “U” shape, while behind the south goal there are only a few rows of seating, leaving this section of the venue effectively “open”.

The stands along the pitch are divided into two tiers. The stand behind the north goal, which includes the section dedicated to the most passionate supporters, has a single tier. The stadium has a nominal capacity of 9,200 spectators, although only 4,000 seats were made available for the first matches.

The venue is located on the western outskirts of Fort Wayne, approximately 5 miles (8 km) west of the city center, along Bass Road, in the immediate vicinity of Interstate 69.