An updated agreement with the Portland Hearts of Pine for the anticipated addition of a women’s soccer team at Fitzpatrick Stadium received support from the city’s housing and economic development committee Tuesday and will go to the full council on June 15.

While there were some lingering concerns over the scheduling impact at the heavily used facility, staff cited the limited number of games and the team’s summer schedule as reasons a women’s team could be added without having an adverse effect.

Following its tremendous success in Portland at the city-owned stadium, the Hearts of Pine organization recently approached the city regarding the addition of a preprofessional women’s soccer team that would play in the USL W League next season.

A formal announcement has not yet been made, but the updated agreement with the city spells out that the Hearts of Pine would choose 33 dates to host games at the stadium — 25 for the men’s team, and eight for the women’s team.

Ethan Hipple, director of parks, recreation and facilities, told the committee Tuesday that the city already offers 40 dates to the Hearts of Pine to choose from based on past use and known availability.

He also said the team will pay for the additional games and practice times, the latter of which would occur midday on weekdays when there’s generally not a lot of field use.

The proposed change would bring in more than $38,400 a year for the city. The men’s team, which had its debut season in 2025, does not pay rental fees for practice sessions or up to 25 games for the first 10 years of the agreement in exchange for the roughly $3 million in improvements that the team has made at the stadium.

Hipple said that as part of the agreement, the team will be asked to provide a traffic management plan in response to some concerns from the surrounding neighborhoods related to congestion and safety in the area on game days. It would then go to the council for approval prior to the start of the new team.

The committee voted 3-1 to send the agreement to the full council, with Council Kate Sykes opposed.

Although members supported the addition of a women’s team, Sykes and Councilor Sarah Michniewicz questioned whether the team would have access to locker rooms or training facilities on par with the men’s team.

Hipple and representatives from the Hearts of Pine said planning for facility sharing is occurring now. Team founder Gabe Hoffman-Johnson said the organization has “every intent to provide the same level of care.”

Hoffman-Johnson said the organization is also eager to move the process along in order to hire staff and “build the brand” in time for the planned start next year.

Since its debut season, the Hearts of Pine men’s team playing in USL League One has had an average attendance at Fitzpatrick of 5,800, and as of this past weekend has had 24 consecutive sellouts.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 8:30 a.m. on June 4 to correct the committee vote.