Louisville City FC’s players and staff have embarked on the club’s latest landmark move in a series of them, settling in this week at their new $15 million training facility.
The privately financed project — address 801 Edith Road — consolidates day-to-day operations at a Champions Park site adjacent to River Road that’s fewer than two miles from Lynn Family Stadium.
The building includes a new locker room space, weight room, dining hall and media/film room in addition to the outdoor amenities: a large grass pitch and multiple turf fields to accommodate play rain or shine, day or night.
“It shows the growth of the club,” said head coach Danny Cruz. “This facility’s unbelievable. It’s pretty amazing to see the smiles on the guys’ faces when they walk in. Everything here has been fantastic.”
Ground was broken on the project on Aug. 4, 2020. Minor construction will continue in the coming weeks, putting finishing touches on the building before a proper ribbon cutting.
The facility — built by AML Construction and operated by ASM Global — will also house the NWSL expansion side Racing Louisville FC, youth academies and back office staff.
“We started in 2015 on a baseball field, in an office that doubled as our team store, and now we’re moving into a 30,000 square-foot facility housing our men’s pro team, women’s pro team, academy and staff,” said club president Brad Estes. “It was all pulled off during a pandemic, which speaks to our ownership’s faith in the organization’s vision to press forward.
“Culturally, as we see each other daily and forge deeper relationships, we believe this is the next big step for us to grow together as an organization.”
The training facility adds a new level of convenience for a team that has already proven itself dominant, winning consecutive USL Championship titles in 2017 and 2018. Players were based in one place but trained in another — going from their stadium to Thurman-Hutchins Park — for their first six-plus seasons.
Moving forward, the grounds make for an all-in-one daily experience.
“That’s going to be one of the biggest things for us — just be able to come in, have our meetings here, change here, train here and come back,” said Paolo DelPiccolo, a veteran midfielder and LouCity’s captain. Plus, he said with a smile, “A lot of peoples’ cars are starting to smell from driving to and from training.”
DelPiccolo emphasized that players have had to earn this sort of setup.
“We talk a ton about not taking things for granted,” Cruz added. “I think it’s no secret that here at Louisville City, we’re doing things right. When you come here and wear this crest, there’s a sense of pride that comes with it.
“I want everybody, when they walk into this place, to not think, ‘This is great. We deserve it.’ It’s more about, ‘I’m proud to be here, and I want to be here.’”
Facilities for LouCity and Racing Louisville are nearly mirror images of one another. The professionals will primarily use grass pitches, while the academy trains on turf. Already, the facility has hosted a number of community events, from college soccer games to youth sports camps. Visit www.loucity.com/rentals for more information on event bookings.
