Portland Hearts of Pine’s ambitious plan to transform an industrial section of the city’s western waterfront into a $50 million-plus professional soccer stadium faced its first significant public test Thursday night, as residents raised questions about traffic, parking and the future of Portland’s working waterfront.
The club held its first neighborhood meeting on the proposal at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27, at Waynflete School, beginning what could become a months-long approval process for one of Portland’s most consequential waterfront development proposals in years. The meeting was the first of two neighborhood sessions expected as the project moves toward formal city review.
At issue is the Hearts of Pine’s proposal to construct a 9,000-to-11,000-seat soccer-specific stadium at Cassidy Point, along the Fore River near Veterans Memorial Bridge. The stadium would eventually replace city-owned Fitzpatrick Stadium as the permanent home of the men’s USL League One club and its new women’s team, which is scheduled to begin play in May 2027.
The project, announced Aug. 4, would cost more than $50 million and is expected to be predominantly privately funded. Hearts of Pine has entered into an agreement to acquire approximately eight acres of Sprague Energy property at Cassidy Point, including land now associated with industrial operations and a massive coal pile that has generated years of complaints from West End residents.
But before fans can take their seats along the Fore River, the club has several significant hurdles to clear.
Traffic and Parking Take Center Stage
Much of the discussion Thursday centered on what has emerged as perhaps the most immediate neighborhood concern: how thousands of spectators will get to and from Cassidy Point.
The industrial property itself cannot accommodate parking for anything approaching the stadium’s full capacity, meaning the organization will have to rely on off-site parking, transit, biking and pedestrian access.
The team has said it plans to work with nearby property owners and parking facilities while making public transportation, walking and biking a central part of its transportation strategy. Transportation, traffic and parking will also be scrutinized during the city’s eventual site-plan review.
The issue is particularly significant because the proposed stadium would nearly double the capacity available to Hearts supporters at Fitzpatrick Stadium, where the men’s team currently plays before crowds of roughly 6,000.
Demand appears to be there. Hearts says its men’s club has more than 4,000 season-ticket holders and another 8,000 people on a waiting list. When the organization opened deposits for its forthcoming women’s team, 5,000 deposits were claimed within an hour.
Working Waterfront Fight Looms
Parking, however, may not be the proposal’s toughest political battle.
Portland’s maritime community has increasingly raised concerns that rezoning Cassidy Point for a stadium could permanently remove valuable deep-water property from the city’s working waterfront.
The roughly eight-acre parcel is currently located within Portland’s Waterfront Port Development Zone, where the proposed stadium is not an allowed use.
That means Hearts of Pine needs Portland to amend the zoning before the stadium can proceed.
Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association, tugboat operators and the Maine Port Authority have warned that even underutilized waterfront property is difficult, if not impossible, to replace once converted to another use.
The Maine Port Authority has praised the soccer club’s success but said Cassidy Point’s deep-water marine infrastructure should remain available for commercial use.
Hearts officials contend the two uses can coexist.
The team’s conceptual plan would preserve Cassidy Point’s approximately 600-foot commercial pier, which would continue operating under a separate marine operator. Club officials say the stadium would occupy portions of the property primarily associated with coal and material storage while maintaining maritime access.
The debate revives a familiar Portland political fight over how much waterfront property should be protected for traditional marine industries as pressure grows for redevelopment.
Coal Site Could Become Stadium
The proposed development would also dramatically change one of Portland’s most visible industrial properties.
Cassidy Point currently includes the Sprague Energy coal storage operation, whose stockpile has for years drawn complaints from nearby residents about fugitive coal dust.
In 2025, the Portland City Council adopted restrictions requiring large coal piles to be covered by 2027 and removed by 2030. Hearts of Pine argues the stadium could accelerate the transformation and environmental cleanup of the site.
The organization envisions more than soccer.
Plans include public waterfront trails and green space, an indoor recreational facility, pedestrian and bicycle connections and potentially limited restaurant and retail operations. Much of Cassidy Point is currently inaccessible to the general public.
The club has also invested nearly $3 million of private money into improvements at Fitzpatrick Stadium, which would remain a city recreational facility after Hearts eventually leaves.
City Council Will Ultimately Decide
Thursday night’s meeting was only the beginning.
Hearts of Pine has submitted its zoning application to Portland’s planning staff. The Planning Board is expected to hold workshops on the proposal this fall before making a recommendation concerning the requested zoning change.
The final zoning decision rests with the Portland City Council.
If the zoning amendment is approved, the project would still face a major site-plan review examining traffic, parking, utilities, stormwater, lighting, environmental impacts and other development requirements.
Club officials estimate the planning, environmental and public approval process could take between six and 12 months.
The organization hopes to begin construction in late 2027 and open the new stadium in early 2029. Until then, both Hearts of Pine teams are expected to continue using Fitzpatrick Stadium.
For a soccer club that has rapidly developed one of Maine’s most enthusiastic fan bases, Cassidy Point represents an opportunity to build a permanent home.
For Portland, however, the decision is considerably larger than soccer.
The debate now underway will force city leaders to weigh a privately financed investment and expanded public waterfront access against traffic concerns and longstanding efforts to protect increasingly scarce industrial waterfront land.
Thursday night’s meeting made clear that before the first goal is ever scored at Cassidy Point, Portland has a major land-use fight to settle.
