Portland Hearts of Pine presented more details about the stadium project at Cassidy Point at a press conference on Tuesday.

The former industrial coal storage site will be transformed into a permanent home for the club's men's and women's teams, as well as a new recreation space, while preserving the "working waterfront" marine.

Construction is slated to begin in 2027 with the goal of opening the stadium in 2029.

Here are some notes from Tuesday's availability.

An Accelerated Timeline

Hearts are a difficult ticket to get, having sold out every game since the club began play in 2025.

Despite adjustments made in year two to allow more fans into the stadium, there's still a season ticket waitlist of 8,000. The women's team, which will kick off in 2027, had 5,000 ticket deposits sell out in an hour.

"While a permanent soccer stadium was always on the roadmap, the tremendous success of our first season caused us to accelerate the timeline," founding partner Jonathan Culley explained. "Toward the end of last season, we began to think seriously about a bigger, more inclusive stadium."

In October 2025, the club identified 14 sites in the greater Portland area, including land in Westbrook, Scarborough, and South Portland. They ultimately chose Cassidy Point on the Portland peninsula to build a 9,000-11,000-seat stadium. The project also includes waterfront trails with public access and an indoor soccer facility.

The club will now seek zoning map and text amendments. Once obtained, they will apply for a major site plan permit, which will allow the city to review items such as traffic, parking, utility infrastructure, stormwater runoff, lighting, and more.

The entitlement and permitting process is expected to take approximately nine months. After that, construction can begin.

"Our goal is to be in the ground, under construction in 12 months," Culley said.

Accessibility

Hearts will encourage biking, walking, and using public transit on game days. They also will look to partner with nearby landowners and garages to provide event parking.

Concerns about traffic will be addressed during the regulatory process that will involve the city and the state of Maine Department of Transportation.

"There will be a very public process about traffic and parking, and the onus will be on us to demonstrate to the regulators that we've created a viable plan," Culley said.

An Eye On Growth

Moments before the press conference, club founder Gabe Hoffman-Johnson was at the Fitzpatrick Stadium telling the players about the project. The conversation, which took place just before training, occurred in the backdrop of ten people running on the track and six people playing on the turf.

It was a reminder that for all the joy that Fitzpatrick Stadium brings, there are also limitations.

The Cassidy Point stadium will allow for better amenities, including separate locker rooms for the men's and women's teams. They will also have greater control of their training and game schedules.

Hearts have become one of the darlings of U.S. soccer, and they aim to continue to be a standard-bearer.

"If you're talking to an American soccer fan and you’re talking about what are the best clubs in this country, I want to be one of the first three clubs out of their mouth," Hoffman-Johnson said. "I think that this market can do that. I think this club can do that, and this site really elevates us and allows us to build what I think is the gold standard of American soccer."

The continued growth of women's soccer creates exciting opportunities, as does the impending arrival of promotion-relegation to the United Soccer League. A new stadium will allow Hearts to capitalize on both.

"The USL has announced its intentions to create pathways for promotion and relegation in this country, which is very exciting," Hoffman-Johnson said. "It's years away, and there's lots of work that has to be done, but I think certainly, this size facility, this level of investment, the aspirations that this club has, and where we see ourselves competing in the American soccer landscape, is at those highest levels."

An Ear for Feedback

Early renderings are conceptual, as the club wants to hear from the community before finalizing plans. While there are beautiful soccer-specific stadiums throughout the various levels, Hearts want to create something uniquely Maine.

Spending the last year and a half at Fitzpatrick Stadium, which will continue to be the club's home until Cassidy Point is ready, has already provided some lessons.

"It's really about how do you give people a chance to walk around and mingle and see people they know and be able to see the field from different vantage points," club president Kevin Schohl said.

There's a lot to be decided in the coming months and years. Some decisions, such as field surface, could come down to logistics.

While no decision has been made, Hoffman-Johnson, a former player, said, "I do think it's difficult. To have natural grass is expensive." He added that they would continue to look at this topic.

In general, the club is excited to receive public input as they build a facility that makes Maine proud.

Community members are encouraged to follow the project, receive updates, and share ideas by visiting heartsofpine.com/cassidypoint, joining the mailing list here, or by reaching out directly to CassidyPoint@heartsofpine.com.