The City of Garland has withdrawn its support for a proposed $71 million soccer complex that was intended to serve as the headquarters and training center for Atlético Dallas, a club set to join a United Soccer League division in 2027. The decision reverses an agreement approved by the Garland City Council in June, which would have allowed the team to lease city-owned land at Holford Road and the President George Bush Turnpike.
Atlético Dallas had planned to build a facility featuring a 2,000-seat show pitch, academy fields, and a 28,000-square-foot building with team offices, locker rooms, therapy space, and a dining hall. The project also included futsal courts, a plaza, and potential for a larger sports and entertainment district on 127 acres nearby.
Club executives expressed disappointment over the city’s reversal. “Garland residents had rallied around the project and that the decision ‘came out of left field,'” said Matt Valentine, co-founder of Atlético Dallas. He noted that the club had already begun sourcing materials for construction and had offered to fund certain components privately to address what he described as the city’s legal concerns regarding the lease. Garland officials did not provide comment.
The financing plan outlined $25 million for athletic fields, $20 million for the multipurpose building, and $26 million allocated toward road improvements and an extension of Naaman Forest Boulevard. Under the terms of the original agreement, Atlético Dallas would have leased the complex from Garland through a 20-year contract with annual rent starting at $75,000 for use of the fields and increasing by 2.5 percent each year.
Following Garland’s withdrawal from the deal, Atlético Dallas will focus on establishing its headquarters closer to Fair Park in Dallas. The club has secured agreements with Dallas officials to play home matches at the Cotton Bowl and assume control of MoneyGram Soccer Park at 2200 Walnut Hill Lane in Northwest Dallas—a move approved by the Dallas City Council in June. Valentine declined to link Garland’s decision directly to these arrangements but acknowledged that “the timing raised questions.”
Currently operating out of Richardson, Atlético plans to scout new sites in Dallas for its operations while relying on MoneyGram Soccer Park for training activities.
