Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer arrived to the stage Thursday to chants of “build the stadium!” He banged on a drum with Louisville City FC’s supporters, the Coopers. Then he delivered a message that hundreds assembled at the Copper & Kings brandy distillery took to kindly.
“It’s going to take the state. It’s going to take the city. It’s going to take a big commitment from the owners as well,” Fischer said at the Paint Butchertown Purple stadium rally. “But all the pieces are falling into place.”
Three months after LouCity announced its future stadium site, the project took another step forward Thursday as the Coopers and Butchertown Neighborhood Association teamed for a supporter-led rally at Copper & Kings.
A 10,000-seat stadium would open in 2020 and be well within sight of Copper & Kings, where at the rally fans could get a bird’s eye view of the 40-acre parcel . The land remains under option, with the plan for a public-private partnership between LouCity’s owners and city government. The club will also seek Tax Increment Financing from the state.
Support is growing. Last Saturday, LouCity drew a single-game record 11,632 fans to Louisville Slugger Field — a purpose-built baseball stadium — for its game against rival FC Cincinnati. Coach James O’Connor’s team is 8-3-5 at the halfway point of the 2017 season, good for third of 15 teams in the United Soccer League’s Eastern Conference.
“Keep supporting us and keep getting as many people as you can into the stadium,” O’Connor told the crowd at Copper & Kings. “When you look at the support you’ve shown and the support we’ve had from the city, it’s incredible. I think the growth has been excellent here.
“I think by the time that stadium’s built, we’re going to have a really great problem. I think we’re going to be selling it out, and we’re going to need a bigger stadium.”
LouCity has released renderings of the stadium site, just part of a district that will include hotels, retail and office space. Also, the club on Thursday revealed a video with a 3-D look at its future home.
Fischer said he passed by the site — it’s next to interstates 64 and 71 just outside of downtown Louisville — on his way to the Paint Butchertown Purple rally.
“There’s a sign over there — one of you guys probably put it up — and it’s just three simple words, isn’t it?” Fischer said. “They are, ‘Build. The. Stadium.’”
That’s the plan.
It’s expected that later this year, Louisville’s Metro Council will discuss the stadium project, with the club’s goal to break ground in 2018. Guests Thursday included Barbara Sexton Smith, who represents the Fourth District, which includes Butchertown. Angela Leet, from the seventh district, was also among those in attendance.
