Louisville City FC Super Thread

Discussion in 'United Soccer Leagues' started by CHeading10, Oct 21, 2013.

  1. Sporting Real

    Sporting Real Member+

    Jun 29, 2011
    Kansas City
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Having been to Slugger Field multiple times before moving, its a very, very good ball park, better then Kaufmann for sure, even though its minor league. The main concourse will be perfect for gathering supporters before the game, and it will have one of if not the best view of any field in the USL, however, it is still a baseball field. And that worries me some. Playing at UofL would make the most sense, but Slugger Field is smack in the middle of downtown, so if they make it work, I see no reason they couldn't eventually get their own stadium in the area, especially since there is so much left to be redeveloped.

    Honestly, this is the best time for soccer to try and make a go in Louisville. It's consistently ranking in the top 10 desired demographics for a soccer franchise, and like I said, the amount of space waiting to be redeveloped on the waterfront and downtown is perfect. Even though it's USL, and I'm not a huge USL fan, I'm behind this team. Need to get a hold of a scarf for these guys and Indy Eleven
     
  2. Blando13

    Blando13 Member+

    Dec 4, 2013
    Lee's Summit, MO
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Just looking at the seating configuration/field configuration, it will be better than some baseball parks that host soccer games. The straight wall in right field that is 90 degrees from the first base line helps that IMO. Downtown makes it nice too ... either facility will work and enable them to grow into possible a location of their own (or help U of L expand if that's the direction that can be facilitated by the local owner).
     
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  3. OnlyOneTInFootball

    Mar 15, 2011
    Club:
    Portland Timbers
    Working around the schedule of a baseball team isn't a huge deal for a soccer team. Also, looking at the stadium, it doesn't appear to be a terrible place to put a soccer field. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa is pinched in such a way no seat would have ideal sight lines, Al Lang is at a 90 degree angle but all the seats are in the corner. It might even work better than the old Wizards loaner field because of the right field bleacher seats. The baseball "pinch" is fairly narrow in Louisville, but you could probably get the major sideline to run parallel with the majority of the seats down one of the base lines.

    Do not take any of what I just said and conclude I think it is an ideal solution. It is not. But if it's a temporary solution, they've got a chance.

    Universities can sell alcohol at their events. The problem is the insurance is usually cost-prohibitive.
     
  4. davidrpaige

    davidrpaige Member

    May 17, 2008
    Washington, DC
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    #54 davidrpaige, Jan 15, 2014
    Last edited: Jan 15, 2014
    No, it isn't so much a problem for the soccer team because, even at this point in time, they'll be grateful for a home. The Bats are going to have a huge issue with a soccer team playing in their home. The FOs might be all smile and patting on the backs, but the players, you know the guys that actually have to use the field, will be pretty pissed. The outfield will get chewed up and it will come into play. Players won't like it because if they have bad plays due to field issues, that could cost them a roster spot. This is their livelihood here.

    The Louisville Bats are not some hick baseball club playing against the local dairy baseball team, this is one of the most profitable MiLB clubs. Anything that diminishes their product is not going to be tolerated. The Bats are profitable but they ain't making Yankee kind of money. They won't sacrifice that much for a visiting soccer team.

    A lot of these issues we experienced here in DC when the Nationals came to town in 2005. DC United and the Nationals shared RFK for 3 years. Even though DCU had been the longer resident, baseball got the priority. The Nationals were not happy with DCU and DCU was never happy with the Nationals. Both found that the other sport impacted the field in different ways that was viewed as detrimental.

    IMO if OCSC wants to move into Louisville as a welcome member of the local sports scene, then I'd avoid building bad blood with them.
     
  5. BluebeardRex

    BluebeardRex New Member

    Aug 2, 2013
    Club:
    Waterford United
    I am one of the Louisville guys, and was at the event last night, and have been keeping a close eye on this for a while. Certainly, a baseball field isn't ideal, but it does have some advantages. Firstly, it is downtown, and easily walked from the center of the city, while the Uni is a distance out. While the new stadium is probably going to be the best one in the NCAA, it isn't particularly close to any bars, or places where locals commune so much (afaik).

    The biggest two problems for using such a stadium may be the University itself. Nearly half the city hates UofL for being the rival of UK, so much so that there are people I know who will never wear the color red, so having a club playing there may tie the club to the Uni and alienate the vast majority of the state (I'm not from KY originally, and would not have thought so but one or two UK fans told me they reckon it to be so). Secondly, the management of U of L Athletics (I hasten to add not the soccer people there, who have been very supportive and turned up in force last night) have a reputation of being slow to share their toys: the debacle over the YUM Center arena deal is going to be brewing on for some years to come, I fear.

    Wayne Estopinal's aim is to get an SSS built, and I would hope that, should numbers be good, and consistently growing, beautifully located Slugger Field will be left for a beautifully constructed stadium, hopefully close to the center.
     
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  6. ButlerBob

    ButlerBob Moderator
    Staff Member

    Nov 13, 2001
    Evanston, IL
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This was on SBI. It sounds like it would be more of a sale of the franchise to the group in Louisville. And Rawlins has said if the franchise goes there it will be their affiliate. The big item for me was that it would be a sale and not a franchise run by Orlando. Maybe I missed something previously. Here's the link.
    http://www.soccerbyives.net/2014/02/louisville-potential-affiliates.html
     
  7. SoccerPrime

    SoccerPrime Moderator
    Staff Member

    All of them
    Apr 14, 2003
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well Estiponal part owns Orlando and will conceivably part own Louisville. My guess is maybe only some or none of the other Orlando investors will also own Louisville ( Rawlins, Flavio etc).

    Another idea that occurred to me. Isn't USL squeezing out the River City Rovers PDL with this move? Very similar to OKC where they awarded a Pro franchise even though a successful PDL team was already there. A little jerky it seems.
     
  8. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Except River City's not really a successful PDL team.

    They've gone 13-24-9 in three years, with an average attendance of 177 per game. They're a non-entity.
     
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  9. Blando13

    Blando13 Member+

    Dec 4, 2013
    Lee's Summit, MO
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    At what point is that acceptible? Was NYRB jerky to come in an possibly push NYFC out? Can there not be a professional team and D-4 team in the same market? What defines success at the PDL level? There are a lot of questions that could be answered before you just put the "jerkly" claim on them.
     
  10. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    NYCFC? The team that hasn't actually played yet?

    Rarely happens.

    Like I always say, it's like that old joke, "How do you know when a Deadhead has been in your house? He's still there."

    PDL teams that "succeed" are still around. Des Moines and Michigan are the longest-running PDL clubs, with IMG Academy Bradenton, Orlando City U23, Vermont Voltage, Westchester Flames and Thunder Bay Chill all active for 15 years or more. Looks like nearly half the PDL has been in operation for five years or fewer.
     
  11. SoccerPrime

    SoccerPrime Moderator
    Staff Member

    All of them
    Apr 14, 2003
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    True they aren't successful, but their league isn't helping them any by putting a higher level team in same market. If they weren't successful before they'll be dead now. I'm sure if it was my invest I would be pissed.
     
  12. SoccerPrime

    SoccerPrime Moderator
    Staff Member

    All of them
    Apr 14, 2003
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Another angle this story brings up:

    Why is MLS asking Orlando to sell the USL franchise meanwhile LA buys one...?
     
  13. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Don't disagree.

    But your PDL franchise doesn't preclude the league putting a team in USL Pro.

    And if USL does want to put a team in a league other than the one in which a franchisee currently has a team, the PDL team (in this example) has a 15-day window to apply to get that pro franchise for itself and submit a business plan. So they get first refusal. I'm guessing River City doesn't have the wherewithal to do that.

    Did MLS ask Orlando to sell the USL franchise?
     
  14. SoccerPrime

    SoccerPrime Moderator
    Staff Member

    All of them
    Apr 14, 2003
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    From the SBI article:
    "Rawlins also stated that the team agreed with MLS to sell their third-tier franchise"

    Sounds to me like MLS asked them to sell.
     
  15. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Okay. Don't know why, then. You'd think someone would have followed up on that, but then SBI ain't exactly Woodward & Bernstein.
     
  16. msilverstein47

    msilverstein47 Member+

    Jan 11, 1999
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  17. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    No, that's actually not it, Intrepid Unpaid Reporter.

    When Rawlins sold his stake in Stoke*, he said specifically it was because he needed to devote time to everything that goes into moving Orlando to MLS.




    *You see what I did there?
     
  18. Blando13

    Blando13 Member+

    Dec 4, 2013
    Lee's Summit, MO
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Sorry, FCNY. It doesn't happen a lot, but it's happening more and more. SKC had the Brass in town (granted, they didn't last, but it wasn't because of SKC/Wizards). Floridians FC are near the Strikers? Lynx in Toronto, NPSL seems to have some teams in MLS markets ... not counting affiliates. I just think it is becoming less of a big deal. Biggers issue than a professional team stealing "fans" is simply travel distances to opponents ... that doesn't change with a pro team in town.
     
  19. Blando13

    Blando13 Member+

    Dec 4, 2013
    Lee's Summit, MO
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Not sure why MLS would ask them to sell while encouraging other MLS teams to buy franchise's and put teams in the USL Pro. My guess is a guy like Flavio said I'm not owning a team in both, but if you (Espitol, Rawlins, minority owners) want to, lets call it "selling" to a "different" group. That could be it ... it could also be after talking with local people in Louisville it was realized that local ownership was better than a group mainly consisting of Orlando guys owning it ... so Espitol and a few other Louisville investors have decided to arrange it by "buying" those rights from Orlando under the terms that they would be the affiliate for Orlando, but not "owned" by Orlando.
     
  20. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah, they only lasted from 1998 to 2013.
     
  21. Blando13

    Blando13 Member+

    Dec 4, 2013
    Lee's Summit, MO
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yes, I know how long they lasted ... I was just wanting to make sure that it was "known" that they are no more. Didn't want them folding this offseason to take away from the point that there are 4th tier teams in the same markets as professional clubs ... so I don't see the reason it couldn't happen in Louisville, or OKC, or wherever people are getting their panties bunched up about some pro team going to ruin their prized 4th tier team!
     
  22. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    There are, apparently, 13 PDL teams in "pro" markets.

    Nine of them are apparently directly affiliated with the pro club in question.

    The point remains: if you're a PDL team, good luck having success in your market with a pro team there. The Brass was, bless their heart, funded for years without real success.

    A higher-level team would and should almost always put a PDL team out of business or at least make it even more difficult for them to have any success. I can't see why concern over that would be dismissed by you.
     
  23. Blando13

    Blando13 Member+

    Dec 4, 2013
    Lee's Summit, MO
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Ofcourse that could be concerns ... but given what was posted as their success (playing in front of a couple hundred), I don't think the gate revenue is what that team is striving for. What OTHER ways would a pro team effect a 4th tier club? They taking away media attention? Players? Merchindise sales?

    I just don't see it. If the club was depending on the gate then they would be doing better than averaging less than 200 people. That's basically playing in front of friends and family ... who would likely still come out and watch even if they had a professional option to watch.
     
  24. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That's what I said. In this particular case, River City is operating at a very low, subsistence level. There's nothing to wreck, there.

    That doesn't mean that other PDL teams that have pro teams come into their markets wouldn't have something to wreck.
     
  25. Blando13

    Blando13 Member+

    Dec 4, 2013
    Lee's Summit, MO
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I agree ... hard to paint a broad brush. Some PDL teams would be hurt, others really aren't significant enough to be hurt. Ideally, there is some sort of relationship formed so that the PDL team can partner with the professional club and be a part of the clubs development. I don't know that ALL PDL teams have so much EGO that they can't agree to be a part of professinal expansion in thier city.
     

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