Detroit City FC's new Stadium pushed to 2028, but Keyworth is ready for one more year

Detroit City FC's new 15,000-seat home in Southwest Detroit was supposed to open in spring 2027. It won't. The club announced this week that AlumniFi Field has been pushed back to spring 2028. DCFC didn't pin the move to any single setback. It framed the new timeline as a deliberate one, meant to deliver the strongest possible fan experience and long-term community impact, and the club had already described the original 2027 target as aggressive in 2025. Another year of buildup, then. And another year at Keyworth.

The $153 million stadium sits at the heart of a larger $198 million development that also includes 76 apartments, 16,000 square feet of shops and offices, and 421 parking spaces. The site occupies the footprint of the old Southwest Detroit Hospital, a long-vacant building that has taken real work to bring back. In the summer of 2025, crews pumped about 1.9 million gallons of water that contained PFAS out of the abandoned hospital's basement. Demolition followed that December, with then Mayor Mike Duggan on hand for the ceremony on December 19. At that point the club was still aiming to open in spring 2027.

The club selected Barton Malow as its construction manager in late April, filling a critical role in the project. With a contractor now mobilizing subcontractors and setting up for large-scale excavation and concrete work, the new target is spring 2028. The project is privately financed through investor debt and equity, with brownfield tax incentives estimated at $74.2 million over 30 years covering demolition, environmental remediation, and surrounding streetscape improvements.

Meanwhile, back in Hamtramck, Keyworth Stadium just keeps showing out.

Built as a Works Progress Administration project and opened in 1936 with President Roosevelt in attendance, Keyworth has been Detroit City FC's home since 2016. Senator John F. Kennedy campaigned there in 1960. The Northern Guard supporters group marches through Hamtramck's streets before every home game, drums going, smoke bombs ready for when the first goal drops. Inside, the stands fill with coney dogs, tamales, chants in multiple languages, and the kind of fan culture most American soccer clubs are still trying to figure out how to build.

This year, DCFC set a new season ticket member record and has gone 5-0-1 at home so far in 2026. The product on the field has matched the atmosphere in the stands.

Some of what makes Keyworth exceptional comes from a decision fans made six years ago. During the pandemic, roughly 2,700 supporters raised $1.5 million to help the club stay afloat. In exchange, they received a 10% ownership stake in Detroit City FC. That is not a typical arrangement in American soccer, and it is part of why the relationship between this team and this city feels different from most. The extra year at Keyworth is time that relationship gets to keep deepening.

AlumniFi Field will be worth the wait. When it opens in 2028, it will bring a 15,000-seat stadium, new housing, and a real commercial anchor to a Southwest Detroit neighborhood that needs the investment. The financing is secured. The builder is on board. The path forward is clear.

Until then, there are still goals to score in a 90-year-old stadium that has seen FDR, JFK, and Le Rouge all find something worth celebrating.