After more than two years of false starts, an up-to-$100 million sports stadium is moving forward at Mauldin’s Bridgeway Station.
The multi-use complex along Interstate 385 will be used primarily by the Greenville Triumph minor league soccer team, as well as the Greenville Liberty women’s team.
Plans for the facility were derailed in 2022 when Greenville County, which would have been a major investor in the project as well as owner of the stadium, rejected the plan in 3-2 finance committee vote.
At the time, the estimated price tag was roughly $40 million. The project is now projected to cost between $80 and $100 million.
Private investors stepped in to make the project a reality after Greenville County rejected the deal, Mauldin City Councilman Taft Matney said. The state is also investing $10 million, with another $4 million coming from the city of Mauldin.
The project will break ground in early 2025 with planned opening in 2026.
The 10,000-seat stadium will provide a permanent home for the Triumph, which was founded in 2018 and first played home games at Legacy Early College west of downtown Greenville before moving to Furman University’s Paladin Stadium.
The new stadium will also be used as an event venue for concerts and festivals, and other field games including rugby and lacrosse.
“This stadium will be a place where our entire community comes together to celebrate, to compete and to create memories that will last a lifetime,” Triumph and Liberty Chairman Joe Erwin said at an Oct. 30 announcement.
Bridgeway Station developer Phil Hughes will donate several acres for the project to Mauldin. The city will own the facility, and the Triumph will be the lead tenant, similar to the Swamp Rabbit hockey teams contract at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, which is owned by Greenville County.
The stadium will anchor the mixed-use Bridgeway Station development, a $150 million project that mimics an Italian village on the edge of Mauldin.
Eventually, the footbridge that connects the project to the rest of Mauldin on the other side of I-385 will become a part of the larger Swamp Rabbit Trail system, connecting the greenway to the southern part of the county.
During the Oct. 30 event, Mauldin Mayor Terry Merritt said establishing the stadium within city limits is a major step forward in making the Upstate town, often seen as a bedroom community for Greenville, a destination in its own right.
“I believe this project will be an absolute game changer for the city of Mauldin and the entire Upstate region,” he told the crowd.
Despite setbacks, Matney said there was always a will to move forward on the stadium development.
“With Hughes Investments, Greenville Pro Soccer, and the city of Mauldin, there was always a determination to make this project a reality,” he said. “We knew as long as nobody gave up, we’d get where we are today.”
