The Portland professional soccer club is about to begin the first phase of the renovation of Fitzpatrick Stadium

The Portland Hearts of Pine will make their professional soccer debut in 2025. Before the first game, several renovation projects are planned at the club’s home stadium, Fitzpatrick Stadium. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

USL League One soccer team Portland Hearts of Pine, which will begin play in 2025, has already set records for the league’s expansion team in season ticket deposits, merchandise sales and social media growth.

This summer, the club will make a number of other important moves ahead of its debut, including renovations to its home ground, the 6,000-seat Fitzpatrick Stadium, and will also look to hire its first manager.

Under a non-exclusive lease that is rent-free for up to 10 years, Portland Hearts of Pine must invest at least $1 million in renovations and improvements to the city-owned stadium before its first game. Team president Kevin Schohl said renovation costs “will definitely be over a million dollars before we start playing. About $1.5 million for improvements is probably more like the right amount.”

Shortly after renovations begin in August, the club plans to name its coach, who will be responsible for the on-field product. The USL League One season runs from mid-March to October, followed by the playoffs.

“It’s important to get this position right. At this level, the coach is also the general manager,” said Gabe Hoffman-Johnson, one of the club’s founding investors and point man during the nearly five-year process of bringing a USL League One franchise to Portland.

Hoffman-Johnson said that while the club is always looking to bring the community together, they also want to find the right coach who can build a competitive squad from the ground up.

“We also want to win on the pitch,” he said.

The first phase of the renovation includes a new artificial turf field, improved lighting, the construction of two locker rooms and significant improvements to the dilapidated press box.

The biggest cost is a new playing surface, which Schohl estimates will cost $700,000. That project won’t begin until after the Thanksgiving football game between Portland and Deering, and work is expected to be completed in December.

Schohl said there are still some issues to be worked out with the city, including the brand and contractor for the turf work. Additionally, it is uncertain whether other sports that use the stadium – such as lacrosse – will have playing lines sewn into the field.

The current turf was installed in spring 2015. Schohl said the city would have had to budget for a new surface in the next few years. However, the soccer club is keen to have a high-quality turf for the inaugural season and also plans to install a shock-absorbing layer under the turf, which the current turf does not have.

Fans line up to purchase Portland Hearts of Pine merchandise after the name of the new professional soccer club was announced at Brick South in Thompson’s Point on April 27. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Another major cost is replacing the current lightbulbs with LED lights, which will cost about $300,000. The lights will be brighter and more energy efficient, which is required in part to meet USL’s broadcast requirements.

Work this summer will begin with what Schohl described as “site work” involving utilities. It will be necessary to bring power to both sides of the guest bleachers, which are on the I-295 side of the property. Currently, those areas are paved and used to store maintenance equipment.

At one end of the guest stands, a beer garden area will be set up, sponsored by Portland brewery Bissell Brothers, which recently announced its status as Hearts of Pine’s first “founding partner.”

“Our partnership is much more than just serving alcohol on game days,” said Pete Bissell, the brewery’s owner. “It’s much more than ‘when do they need beer?'”

Bissell said his company was involved in shaping the club’s brand and hosted many soccer watch parties to promote the USL-to-Portland movement. When the club officially received its USL League One franchise, the announcement was made at Bissell Brothers’ flagship location in Thompson Point.

The cost to build two 60-foot-long locker rooms has not yet been determined, but Schohl said it would be in the “hundreds of thousands.” The locker rooms will be located behind the visiting bleachers near the back of Hadlock Field. Hearts of Pine will have a club-only locker room. The visiting team locker room will be available to Portland High teams as well as other teams that use Fitzpatrick.

Employees sell merchandise featuring the team’s name and crest at Brick South in Thompson’s Point. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Other construction deficiencies include the purchase of removable soccer goal posts (to be installed after the 2024 season), the installation of a limited number of improved seating options with backrests, and the redesign of the unheated, outdated press box for a professional league.

The 12-team USL League One is considered the third-tier league in the United States professional soccer pyramid. Major League Soccer is the only first-tier league and USL Championship is the only second-tier league.

Portland is one of six expansion franchises scheduled to make their League One debut in 2025. The others are in Naples, Florida; Santa Barbara, California; Lancaster, California; Westchester County, New York and Sherman, Texas.

Hearts of Pine plans to offer up to 4,500 season tickets. Deposits for over 2,500 season tickets have already been received since sales began on April 27, when the club announced its name and team colours and unveiled its distinctive crest.

The minimum price for a season ticket, which covers about 18 games, will be $220, Schohl said. There will be several price tiers that have yet to be determined.

The crest, which online soccer site Goal.com said was “possibly the best crest in North America right now,” has helped the club sell merchandise to fans in 41 states, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom.

The club also states that web traffic has doubled compared to all recent club launches in USL League One, including those in much larger cities such as Santa Barbara and Spokane, Washington.

“It’s been great to see the momentum continue to build in Portland and across the state of Maine,” said Lee O’Neill, President of USL League One.

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