Among the 10,000-plus on hand for for Louisville City FC’s Wednesday night showdown with Phoenix Rising FC were hundreds of other club owners, executives and potential investors in professional soccer.
While the teams combined for a scoreless draw, United Soccer League President Jake Edwards said he’s confident guests at the inaugural USL Summer Showcase took away the expected experience.
That included soaking in a game at Lynn Family Stadium; a tour of LouCity and Racing Louisville FC’s facility, the nearby Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center; and a look at how the club ingrained with its community.
“You couldn’t get a better advert for what’s possible,” Edwards told local reporters during a halftime interview. “All of these investors that are thinking about getting into soccer, and the current owners we have, they’re going to take this back with them and they’re going to get some amazing things done.”
League guests took in the game from a VIP tent on the waterfront end of Lynn Family Stadium. It capped a series of meetings, introductions and special events, including a Tuesday evening cocktail reception and dinner at Churchill Downs, home of the world-famous Kentucky Derby.
The track’s bugler, Steve Buttleman, played the teams onto the field for their walkout leading up to an ESPN2-televised game. Other theatrics included pyrotechnics, a flyover and the unmistakable USL Championship star logo draped over the center field circle.
“It’s been such a positive energy that our owners and executives and league partners have taken away from two days here in Louisville,” Edwards said. “The club and the city have been fantastic hosts. We’ve experienced Churchill Downs and some of the sights and sounds of the city. We’ve had good meetings, and then we have the fantastic backdrop of this stadium.
“The momentum of the league — I’ve never seen it where it is right now. Hosting this event in Louisville is extremely impressive. All the owners and executives and future owners of our league are up there and enjoying the atmosphere.”
In its eighth season now, LouCity has already played in seven straight Eastern Conference Finals while remaining the only team to win the league title back to back, which it did in 2017 and 2018. All of that winning — combined with investment from the ownership group and community support — led to today’s reality.
Edwards expects 20 or more stadiums to be built in the USL ecosystem before the 2026 World Cup in North America.
“This was the flagship,” he said of Lynn Family Stadium, “and this was the catalyst for a lot of what you’re going to see in the USL moving forward. So this is a fantastic place to have this inaugural event.
“…Even in the old stadium, the support for this club was fantastic. The community got behind this club from day one. The culmination of that is this fantastic stadium. But it’s no surprise because they’ve got good leadership behind the club, a great fan base here, and it’s a great team — a great product on the pitch.
“Having everyone in the venue to watch the game and see the partnership between the city and the mayor’s office, the club, Louisville Tourism — anybody that’s totally ingrained in this club — it’s a good blessing for the other communities to see.”
