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Voices from Affected Community Members on the City Council Stadium Lease
Residents connected to the former Dico Superfund Site, city pools and school athletic programs describe how the Des Moines City Council lease decision and related budget choices touch daily routines.
How we reported this
The Des Moines City Council approved a 50-year lease for a new professional soccer stadium on the former Dico Superfund Site, with construction targeting spring 2027 and the first match in 2029.
The vote coincides with several other sports facility projects already underway or recently funded in the metro area. The Iowa Soccer Development Foundation completed the capital stack and secured funding for the Pro Iowa Stadium and Global Plaza project in December 2025. West Des Moines RecPlex began construction on a 100,000-square-foot expansion in April 2026 that will add a 3,000-seat arena expected to open in October 2027. Des Moines Public Schools are implementing $15 million in upgrades for athletic fields and tracks at East, Hoover, Lincoln and North high schools, where synthetic turf fields and 8-lane tracks are nearing completion.
Daily routines tied to city facilities
People who use the five public pools operated by the City of Des Moines now face one less weekday of access each week during the 2026 season. The change was adopted to close a budget gap. Families who schedule swimming lessons, lap swims or youth team practices around those closures must rearrange summer schedules or seek other options. The same residents also watch the timeline for the Dico site stadium, which sits on land previously listed as a Superfund location and now slated for major redevelopment.
Parents and students connected to the four high schools receiving the $15 million athletic upgrades see new turf and track surfaces taking shape. Those improvements are described as nearing completion, yet the citywide pool reductions occur in the same budget cycle. Community members note that both the new stadium lease and the pool schedule changes arrive while the RecPlex expansion in West Des Moines moves forward on its own construction calendar.
Looking ahead
Construction on the Dico site stadium is listed to begin in spring 2027, with the first match set for 2029. The RecPlex addition is scheduled to open in October 2027. Residents following these dates continue to track how the lease terms, pool operating hours and school field work will fit together in coming seasons.