In January 2019, a man named Kyle Krause announced his plans to bring a United Soccer League Championship team to Des Moines, Iowa. This project included a new $60 million stadium (early draft documents show the taxpayer paying $45 million of the $60 million). Over the next few years, this project would dangle around because of disagreements between the owner and local governments. Meanwhile, local taxpayers were told very little of the actual details.
Who would pay for what? From the beginning, Krause has been clear about his insistence on taxpayers funding much of this project. Although Krause has told every media outlet that this project “would be privately and publicly funded,” he has also stated that he “always viewed” the funding of a new stadium to be “more public than private.” In another interview, he stated he would only “contribute” to the construction costs of the new stadium. That doesn’t sound like much of a partnership for taxpayers.
Officials proclaimed in 2022 that Des Moines would receive a USL team, contingent upon stadium construction. Since this was three years after Krause’s initial announcement, the price of a new stadium had gone up as the new plans called for an $84 million stadium and an “adjacent plaza project downtown.” According to an Axios article at this time, public and private sources had collected a little more than $50 million. The Iowa Economic Development Authority was giving $23.5 million, private fundraising was giving $25 million, and local governments had “pledged at least $5 million.” But the deal could not get done.
In 2023, the project would now cost $95 million to build. Yet, Krause and local leaders were unable to come to an agreement over the finances of building and hosting a soccer stadium. According to Krause, the team and city were “somewhere less than $20 million” apart.
However, it appears that Krause has not made many friends within the government after negotiating with them several times:
One Polk County Supervisor told Axios he had agreed to give Krause $7 million from his county for the stadium. Krause shortly came back and demanded an additional $10 million. Krause did not get it.
A county administrator told the Des Moines Register that in 2023, the city offered Krause a new tax deal with extra incentives for the developers. The offer was rejected because Krause wanted a “more generous deal.” Krause did not get it.
The city initially offered Krause the ability to pay just 10% of the building’s property taxes for the next 20 years (worth roughly $11 million). The Krause Group came back and asked the city to “increase the rebates.” Krause did not get it.
Another supervisor who just retired told a local media outlet that he was “surprised by the amount of money” that Krause was not asking for from taxpayers after conversations with the soccer owner.
In 2024, the Des Moines Register did a story on the stadium and wrote that the $95 million project was short by $30 million. In addition, two of the five county supervisors were blunt in telling the newspaper that they will not vote for any more money going to the project. Both supervisors pointed out that Krause’s requested extra money could be used for housing, social services, and paying down the government debt.
Or as one county supervisor stated:
“I can’t logically explain to taxpayers in Polk County why we would be taking that cut of money and putting it toward an outdoor soccer stadium that we don’t own and don’t expect any profits from” – Des Moines Register, 08/24/24, Supervisor Tom Hockensmith
This is essentially where we stand today. Even though another year has passed, the public still has few answers about the funding of this new stadium. Who is paying the $20 million needed to clean up the environmental issues found at the site of the potential stadium? No idea.
Krause has failed to convince local leaders that this deal would be good for taxpayers. It isn’t difficult to see why they are so skeptical. Krause wants local taxpayers to take on most of the risk and costs, all the while Krause would take all revenues from ticket sales, concession sales, and the use of luxury box suites. Krause has also pushed for a local sports authority to own the stadium, called the Iowa Soccer Development Foundation. Members of the local government would form this sports authority. But Krause wants this because it allows the local government to be the one who pays for upgrades and maintenance.
Lastly, Krause has made it well known that he owns a team, called Parma Calcio, that plays in the top league in Italy, called Serie A. Let’s see how he is doing with the team.
“The Krause-owned Parma Calcio 1913 team lost $72 million in 2024, according to an audit published at the end of March. Since Krause bought the club in September 2020, Parma Calcio has lost $393 million” — Des Moines Register, 03/21/2025
At least the team is doing well right now in Serie A, right? Oh, they are close to last place? Nevermind.
