Louisville City FC - New Soccer Stadium

The article states that the USL is "requesting" that the franchises all construct their own stadiums by 2020. It also says that Louisville City FC averages 6,431 fans per game at their home games thus far this year, and that that attendance ranks second for the 24 clubs in the USL. A new stadium seems a bit much if that's the case.

Seems to me that they have a pretty good situation playing at Louisville Slugger Field right now. It has an 8000 person capacity in it's 'soccer configuration'. I know the owner is saying he thinks that could be improved with better parking, concessions, and sponsorship opportunities inside of the stadium, but I'm not sure that's going to amount to that much more than 8,000 fans any time soon.

Lousiville City FC Seeks Sustainability, Starts Stadium Talks

They will never have their own stadium, IMO.

Attendance has been good from what I've heard, but I don't see it getting so much better that it would warrant a new stadium.

Not sure how parking could be an issue for LCFC when Slugger holds more people for Bats games.

This will certain kill many of the teams in the league. Whats the Cincy team going to do, request some tax dollars. I know put it on the street car route.

The issue is the financial situation. The Bats have as yet seemed unwilling to restructure it and so something must be done.

The Bats get all revenues from parking, concessions, and advertising. LCFC is also responsible for all game day staffing and security. It's costing them something in the neighborhood of $20,000 per game.

I suspect they'll have themselves a smallish stadium sooner rather than later.

If I had to guess, look for it to end up on the spot of the old River Road Country Club. It's owned by the city and close to the training ground and Mockingbird indoor which is owned by the club's partners.

Not sure how parking could be an issue for LCFC when Slugger holds more people for Bats games.

It's not the parking spaces, it's the parking revenue. This is all about the money.

An interesting coincidence: just yesterday the Bats informed the soccer club that they would not allow the team to hang up this plaque dedicated to the founding members anywhere inside the stadium. The Founding Members are those of us who purchased season tickets before the team had so much as signed its first player. It was a nice gesture by the club and the club was assured there was a place for it in the stadium. So much for the benefits of cooperation.

Well... like the fella said: "And now, the rest of the story."

Bats President answers angry Louisville City FC supporters

I should have known. This whole thing blew up after Estopinal tweeted out half the story. Can't believe I bought in. Nothing new under the sun when it comes to sports owners. Estopinal has good reason to think the Bats are standing in his way of more profits but that had little to do with this.

They'll find somewhere else for the plaque and when the team moves to a new stadium in the next five or six years, they'll take it with them.

Soccer brats. :no:

Louisville City FC's local investors group: it's an interesting group of names that makes me think they'll come up with the money and influence necessary to get the stadium done. I'd never seen this list until today.

Wayne Estopinal: founder of TEG Architects and president of the club;

Tim Molloy: founder and CEO of Peritus Public Relations;

Michael Mountjoy: founding parter of MCM, a large, regional accounting firm;

Gill Holland: filmmaker and property developer in the NuLu and Portland neighborhoods;

Matthew Barzun: United States ambassador to the Court of St. James and a Louisville resident; spouse of Brooke Brown Barzun, heiress to the Brown-Forman distilling fortune.

Soccer brats. :no:

The relationship will only grow more contentious until the day the soccer team moves to a separate facility. Neither the organization or the fans are happy about the influence the Bats have or the financial situation the Bats enjoy for doing absolutely nothing. If the Bats owned the stadium, I'd get it; but they don't, the city does.

Wayne Estopinal: founder of TEG Architects and president of the club;

I knew about Wayne, obviously. I know him from business, as well. I don't trust that guy any further than I can spit.

I knew about Wayne, obviously. I know him from business, as well. I don't trust that guy any further than I can spit.

I'll grant some team owners the benefit of the doubt, but with most sports owners, the only thing you can trust them to do is whatever it takes to bilk the city for money.

The city helped build a new baseball stadium for the Bats more than 15 years ago. Now somehow that team and not the city is making all sorts of decisions regarding how the stadium's profits are allocated.

If I had my way, LouCity would be at Slugger for the foreseeable future but they'd get their share of the profits for their own game days and the Bats could shove it because the City of Louisville bought them a stadium.

I'm not going to get my way and the city will have given away land and money to pay for two stadiums with no real share of the profits going back to taxpayers.

I'll grant some team owners the benefit of the doubt, but with most sports owners, the only thing you can trust them to do is whatever it takes to bilk the city for money.

 

The city helped build a new baseball stadium for the Bats more than 15 years ago. Now somehow that team and not the city is making all sorts of decisions regarding how the stadium's profits are allocated.

 

If I had my way, LouCity would be at Slugger for the foreseeable future but they'd get their share of the profits for their own game days and the Bats could shove it because the City of Louisville bought them a stadium.

 

I'm not going to get my way and the city will have given away land and money to pay for two stadiums with no real share of the profits going back to taxpayers.

By the way you are describing things, it sounds like this is the City's fault, not the Bats. If it's the City's stadium, they shouldn't be LETTING the Bats dictate what goes on. What are the Bats going to do, move to Old Cardinal Stadium?

By the way you are describing things, it sounds like this is the City's fault, not the Bats. If it's the City's stadium, they shouldn't be LETTING the Bats dictate what goes on. What are the Bats going to do, move to Old Cardinal Stadium?

It's the way the city structured things in the beginning. The city and the team co-own the stadium and the team operates it.

But yeah, it's the city's fault. There's nothing civic governments like more than throwing money at development projects and treating them like public works projects rather than the cash-cows for developers and operators that they are.