A stadium hosting a minor league soccer team could be built in Baltimore by late 2028 and cost roughly $200 million, according to a new study. The crucial question of how such a venue would be funded, however, remains to be answered.

The Maryland Stadium Authority contracted design firm Moody Nolan last year to analyze two possible sites for a 7,500-seat stadium, which would serve as the home of a D.C. United-affiliated team competing in the MLS Next Pro league.

The lengthy study — which includes over 3,000 pages devoted to environmental assessment — was published Friday. It analyzed 60 acres at the city-owned Carroll Park Golf Course, near Pigtown, as well as a 13-acre Baltimore Peninsula parcel on the site of the former Baltimore Sun printing plant.

The report did not select a preferred location, nor did it identify where potential funding for a stadium would come from. Instead, the analysis is meant to be a tool for stakeholders, including public entities and D.C. United, to use as potential venues are considered.

If design began in June 2026, construction could begin in May 2027, according to the study, and be completed by November 2028.

Despite past efforts, Baltimore is among the largest American cities without some level of pro outdoor soccer. In 2023, a stadium authority consultant studied four sites, producing a preliminary report that cost $50,000 and was split between the authority and D.C. United.

The state’s Department of Commerce then requested the authority take a more substantial step and closely analyze two of the sites: Carroll Park, which was found to be more viable, and Swann Park.

But, after learning of challenges at the Swann Park site and of interest from Baltimore Peninsula developers MAG Partners, the authority swapped out Swann Park for the site of the old newspaper facility. That potential site is just north of Under Armour’s new headquarters, including its 1,400-seat stadium.

This study cost $450,000, with D.C. United paying half and local and state government paying the remainder.

But that’s chump change compared to the cost of a venue. Various estimates — which include stadiums that range in capacity from 7,500 to 12,000 — project the price tag to be $189 million to $250 million. The Baltimore Peninsula site is smaller, which would create parking challenges, but would be about $16 million cheaper.

Regardless, finding at least $189 million to build a soccer stadium is no small task.

Despite regular warnings from economists against spending public money on stadiums operated by private entities, the state of Maryland has earmarked nearly $2 billion for sports venues in recent years.

But given budget constraints — and money already allocated for improvements to Oriole Park at Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium, as well as Pimlico Race Course and minor league ballparks — it is unclear whether the state would reserve more money for sports and entertainment.

State Sen. Antonio Hayes, whose district includes Carroll Park, said in an interview Friday that he “loved” the park as a site.

“We have found creative ways to pay for many, many things, and budgets are all about priorities,” he said of the state potentially funding a stadium.

Asked if the state would consider funding part or all of the stadium, Carter Elliott, a spokesperson for Gov. Wes Moore, referred questions to the stadium authority. Rachelina Bonacci, the authority’s spokesperson, noted that the authority’s role is simply to “provide unbiased and objective analysis.”

In the U.S. and Canada, more than 70% of money spent on pro stadiums comes from public coffers, rather than from the teams themselves. But D.C. United could contribute toward the venue.

The club, valued at $785 million by Forbes, paid for the majority of its Washington stadium, Audi Field, which cost over $400 million.

Whether it would be interested in footing part of the bill for a minor league stadium remains to be seen. A spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment Friday.

The city of Baltimore last year took itself out of consideration, stating in an August Board of Estimates’ agenda that the city is “not in a position” to pay for a potential stadium.

“We remain committed to growing Baltimore’s economy in every way that makes sense, including growing our sports lineup, but will always do that while making fiscally responsible decisions for the City,” Mayor Brandon Scott said in a statement Friday. “I look forward to reviewing the study and taking the next appropriate steps from there.”

This isn’t the first time the state has studied the possibility of a soccer venue.

When D.C. United was looking for a new home stadium in 2010, the stadium authority studied the possibility of building an MLS-specific venue in Baltimore, at the request of then-Mayor Sheila Dixon.

The authority looked into a 42-acre plot in Westport, south of M&T Bank Stadium and, separately, a minor league stadium in the Carroll-Camden area that was envisioned to be part of the Camden Yards “entertainment district,” the authority wrote in 2009.

Those studies did not lead to construction of a stadium, however.