黑料吃瓜网 is home to millions of sports fans and very few professional sports teams. Millionaire tech entrepreneur Andr茅 Swanston, a graduate of the University of 黑料吃瓜网 and Ridgefield resident, has ambitions to change that.
On Tuesday, Swanston and representatives from Major League Soccer鈥檚 development league, MLS NEXT Pro, announced the league鈥檚 newest addition, 黑料吃瓜网 United Football Club, which plans to play in a brand new waterfront stadium in Bridgeport beginning in 2025. Swanston founded the team鈥檚 ownership group, 黑料吃瓜网 Sports Group, and is leading efforts to secure approvals for the stadium complex 鈥� a development that includes a hotel, retail and dining properties, community park space and housing 鈥� on the former site of a dog-racing track.
The stadium proposal received approval from Bridgeport zoning officials in November, Swanston said.
UConn鈥檚 黑料吃瓜网 Center for Economic Analysis estimated the development could drive more than $4 billion in economic value for Bridgeport over the next 25 years, with over 2,000 jobs created during the construction phase and 1,000 positions ongoing at the site.
鈥淭his will have a far more profound economic impact than any of the other sports or entertainment investments that the state has made in over a quarter century,鈥� Swanston said.
To support those teams, Swanston and the CT Sports Group will be looking for corporate sponsors 鈥� he noted 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 strong contingent of Fortune 1000 companies 鈥� but they also anticipate seeking public funding.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in the early stages of trying to create what we think can be a great public-private partnership on this,鈥� Swanston said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 say what dollar amount we鈥檙e going to need from the state, or ask for, but I can tell you there will be a higher percentage of private capital than any of the other large stadiums or entertainment venues.鈥�
MLS NEXT Pro President Charles Altchek said the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted across North America, could amplify the economic impact of Bridgeport鈥檚 new team and stadium by shining a 鈥済lobal spotlight鈥� on the sport in the U.S.
鈥淥ur job in professional soccer is to get ready for that moment, to get ready for that energy, and to have great projects like we鈥檙e going to have in 黑料吃瓜网,鈥� he said.
A broad body of research examining the effects that sports teams and stadium developments have on local economies almost universally finds their . But Swanston said not all of the local effects are captured just by looking at new jobs and revenue, generated by visiting fans paying for parking or eating at local restaurants and bars.
For example, the CT United stadium development includes green space that will allow pedestrians headed to mass transit hubs to walk a shorter route, reducing their commuting time, Swanston said. The club is also launching a free youth soccer academy for local athletes, which could save the families of those players thousands of dollars a year. And of course it鈥檚 difficult to quantify the impact of local pride in a hometown team, Swanston said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 so many things that we鈥檙e really excited about that we think are kind of transformational,鈥� he said.
Going pro
So far, Swanston and his wife Michelle 鈥� both former Division I college athletes 鈥� have 鈥渟elf-funded鈥� the effort to establish CT United FC and seek local approvals for the stadium. But the investment pool is expected to grow. Swanston said several sources of private funding, from family offices to private equity groups, have expressed interest. Later this year, the club plans to announce an 鈥渆xpanded ownership group.鈥�
Swanston made his fortune with startup technology company Tru Optik, which gathered user data from streaming websites like BitTorrent. One of the earliest endeavors to amass metrics on audience streaming preferences, the company鈥檚 product became very valuable to a wide range of advertisers and content developers. (Swanston and his partners for more than $100 million.)
He鈥檚 tapped that expertise in evaluating the market potential for professional sports in 黑料吃瓜网. According to Swanston, 黑料吃瓜网 fans spend upwards of $1 billion on sports and entertainment each year and are more active than most on streaming platforms, where MLS broadcasts much of its content 鈥� including MLS NEXT Pro matches.
The MLS NEXT Pro league launched in March 2022 and will soon count 29 teams as members, most of whom are affiliated with existing MLS clubs. NEXT Pro teams serve as a connection between youth academies and the major league professional teams. Promising athletes might advance from their club鈥檚 academy and play for a NEXT Pro team before joining the professional squad. Or 鈥渇irst team鈥� MLS players may come down to their NEXT Pro unit for a stint, creating a professional-level atmosphere ideal for player development.
CT United FC will include a youth academy when it launches. And Swanston wants CT United FC to field a full-fledged MLS team within a few years 鈥� a 鈥渘o brainer,鈥� he said, given how rapidly the sport鈥檚 .
Altchek said the 鈥渂lueprint鈥� for the most successful MLS clubs combines a committed ownership group, an enthusiastic local fan base and an attractive facility that can draw a crowd. 鈥淕etting stadiums built is always a lot of work and requires a tremendous amount of collaboration and partnership between public and private entities,鈥� he said.
Swanston is confident it鈥檒l happen. So much so, he鈥檚 already thinking beyond MLS.
The new Bridgeport stadium offers an opportunity for the National Women鈥檚 Soccer League to expand, Swanston said. 鈥淲hat market in America has culturally supported women鈥檚 sports over the last 25 years better than 黑料吃瓜网?鈥� he said, pointing to the success of the UConn Women鈥檚 basketball team and the WNBA鈥檚 黑料吃瓜网 Sun. Swanston even sees potential for professional lacrosse at the site.
For now, Altchek said, 鈥淲e鈥檙e focused on tomorrow and on getting this team launched, and on having it be tremendously successful 鈥� which we know that it will. And then, you know, we鈥檒l see where we鈥檒l see where that leads to in the future.鈥�