Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex at Wild Horse Pass is a soccer complex including the Wild Horse Pass Stadium, a

soccer-specific stadium Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada to refer to a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi-pu ...

near

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the ...

. It is the former home of

Phoenix Rising FC Phoenix Rising Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 2014 as Arizona United Soccer Club, the team is a member of the USL Championship. History On March 13, 2014, Kyle E ...

of the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

. The stadium was completed before the start of the

2021 USL Championship season The 2021 USL Championship season was the eleventh season of the USL Championship and the fifth season under Division II sanctioning. This was the third season under the name "USL Championship", having used the name "United Soccer League" throug ...

. It is located on land in the

Gila River Indian Community The Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) (O'odham language: Keli Akimel Oʼotham, ''meaning "Gila River People"'', Maricopa language: Pee-Posh) is an Indian reservation in the U.S. state of Arizona, lying adjacent to the south side of the city of ...

, near

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...

and

Loop 202 Arizona State Route 202 (SR 202) or Loop 202 is a semi-beltway circling the eastern and southern areas of the Phoenix metropolitan area in central Arizona. It traverses the eastern end and the southern end of the city of Phoenix, ...

, across the

Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park is a 450-acre (180 ha) motorsport racing complex, located in Chandler, Arizona, United States, about southeast of downtown Phoenix. History The facility opened as Firebird International Raceway in 1983. In 1 ...

. The complex has 10,000 seats with a video board, press box, improved sound, a family-friendly general admission section, ticket office, locker rooms, two practice fields, and a on-site administrative office.

Background

During planning for a permanent stadium, Phoenix Rising considered sites in

Mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by ...

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

, Scottsdale and Tempe.

History

The first Phoenix Rising game at the complex was held on April 30, 2021, when Rising defeated

San Diego Loyal SC San Diego Loyal Soccer Club is an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team was founded by Warren Smith and Landon Donovan. San Diego Loyal made its debut in 2020 as an expansion team in the USL Championship. ...

4–1. Jon Bakero scored the first goal on the 39th minute, followed by

Santi Moar Santiago "Santi" Moar Sánchez (born 5 September 1993) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a forward for New Mexico United in the USL Championship. Moar is most frequently utilized as a left winger. Playing career Youth and college Moar p ...

Aodhan Quinn Aodhan Quinn (born March 22, 1992) is an American professional soccer player who currently plays for Phoenix Rising FC in the USL Championship. Career Early career Quinn played college soccer at Bradley University in 2010 and at the University ...

and Kevon Lambert. The last game Phoenix Rising at Wild Horse Pass was on October 15, 2022, with Rising coming out on top 3–1 over

Atlanta United 2 Atlanta United 2 are the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC. The team plays in the USL Championship, the second tier of American soccer. The team was established on November 14, 2017 and began their first professiona ...

. The final goal was scored in the 80th minute by

Jackson Conway Jackson Conway (born December 3, 2001) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for USL Championship club Phoenix Rising on loan from Major League Soccer club Atlanta United. Career Conway played with Atlanta United a ...

for Atlanta.

References

{{USL Championship venues Sports venues completed in 2021 Soccer venues in Arizona Phoenix Rising FC USL Championship stadiums Buildings and structures in Chandler, Arizona 2021 establishments in Arizona Gila River Indian Community