Louisville's Mayor announced yesterday that there is money in the Budget to do work to make Slugger Field capable of hosting soccer next year. According to the guy who is heading the bid, and according to the Mayor's diary, June 4th is scheduled for a soccer announcement at Slugger. It looks increasingly like Louisville will be in USL Pro in 2015. http://www.courier-journal.com/stor...ement-planned-louisville-soccer-club/9452293/
anyone know why the University of Louisville's new soccer stadium got dropped from consideration for a venue? They were pretty high on the new field when Orlando USL to Louisville first started.
Probably location. The UofL campus is on the cities southside, off the interstate. Not hard to get too, but there isn't anything around it. Slugger Field is right on the riverfront in downtown with lots to do right next door before and after the game
When the league's history is written, the phenomenon the S'soB became will very much look like the gamechanger as far as expansion went, at least for a handful of teams. We sometimes forget with constant news cycles of even the boring garbage, let alone the bigger stories like Donovan and the 2014 USMNT squad yesterday, that the supporter momentum that was present when Atlanta became an MLS expansion franchise was partly derived from the fact and the growth of the Orlando City supporter groups presence, which itself picked up where the supporters culture in Portland left off, and the Portland Timbers culture itself grew out of what became conceivably possible after we'd all watched it happen with the S'soB in Philly. It's growth over growth, as MLS finally left 1.0, dawdled around at the doorstep of 2.0 for a while, then finally charged through and onward to 3.0, and I will continue to contend that MLS 4.0 is now on our horizon, even though we may not yet know exactly what that even means. And I say a big turning point in all of this was when a group of supporters in Philly started supporting the club they didn't even have yet. Pro sports will always turn on the guys whose net worth starts with the "number B," but soccer is different, and thankfully to some of the S'soB, it's now more substantively different in the US, too.
I don't know what they plan is for it, but maybe they need more seating? Or, maybe there are some alcohol sales issues with Louisville's stadium? Although, Louisville sells alcohol at their basketball games, so maybe they will at soccer games...
well the announcement is a couple days away and there is a lot of USL Pro Expansion activity this week St Louis FC revealed name today will start crest contest on Wednesday Louisville announcement Wednesday Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC crest reveal Thursday not to mention the matches to be played this week
http://www.courier-journal.com/stor...ement-planned-louisville-soccer-club/9452293/ @arog004 June 5th at Ivy Wild, 6:30 pm we are having our brand reveal. You are invited!— Switchbacks FC (@SwitchbacksFC) April 26, 2014 http://switchbacksfc.com/ Saint Louis FC @SaintLouisFC 5h REMINDER: While the team name has been announced, we want YOU to choose the logo. Fan voting for the official #STLFC logo begins Wednesday! Expand Collapse Reply Retweet Retweeted Delete Favorite Favorited More Embed Tweet Mute @SaintLouisFC Unmute @SaintLouisFCBlock or Report I at least try to pay attention
As a Kentuckian (now residing in Denver) I am absolutely elated pro soccer is coming to Louisville. Louisville is such a wonderful city and is much more cultured and diverse than people give it credit for. It's exactly the type of city pro soccer leagues should be targeting. The city will welcome LCFC with open arms and happily spread the beautiful game to the Bluegrass and Southern Indiana. The Louisville Bats, the city's AAA baseball club, has long been supported and games heavily attended. It's amazing to see they are willing and able to lend a helping hand. They should be commended. I have no doubt with the right marketing, business plan, and passion/energy, Louisville City FC will be a great success. I see a budding rivalry with St. Louis in the future, too.
I'm really curious what comes out of the official announcement tomorrow. Everything that came out today makes it sounds way more like Orlando 2 than I expected.
In what way? The Louisville owners aren't that different than Orlando's, some are the same. James O'Conner is a great first head coach. And having 4 Orlando players on loan is nothing new for USL clubs nowadays.
And just like that, everything we thought would happen, happened. Except the part where they're playing at Slugger Field instead of the new SSS at Louisville. The city said they're spending about $800,000 for the soccer accommodations.
The colors staying the same. The logo essentially being the same. The "City' moniker. The coach begin from the Orlando organization. As far as I can tell it's still actually owned by Orlando City (at least I didn't see any details indicating the owners were different. Maybe that'll come out later today). It's more or less the same set up as LAGII except for the name. We all knew they would be affiliates. I just expected them to borrow a couple players from Orlando, not everything. I figured they would be more independent.
Well MLS is supposedly forcing them to be a little different. I don't know of that means Rawlins or Da Silva are not involved financially. I think it's a nice mix of ties to ORL but not nearly as close as LA2.
Honestly, I don't think the fans; the people of Louisville will care much that the team has a pretty tight affiliation with Orlando City. In fact, it will probably be embraced fairly easily. It's a AAA baseball town and the citizens are well versed and well accustomed to having their team have an association with a "big league" club. Aside from the fact that Louisville Bats have a wonderful marketing dept. and the games are well attended, the other "big draws" to the game are: players are one step away from the Majors, they received Cincinnati players on rehab assignments (or demotions), and there is, at least later in the season, some movement of players between the Reds and Bats. The same concept could apply for to LCFC. So the idea of being an affiliate to Orlando City won't be a foreign concept to the fans of Louisville City. I would like there to be a little more independence but at the end of the day, I don't think OCSC will have a negative impact on LCFC at all. I grew up in Louisville and the city is on the upswing. It's more desirable than ever before. It's perfect for professional soccer.
The affiliation is, for better or worse, the future of USL. For Louisville to have such tight ties with what appears to be a top-class organization in Orlando (and, worth noting, one that has had incredible success in USL) can only mean good things for the club.
I would take a high school football stadium over a baseball stadium most of the time. The sightlines are much stranger in a baseball stadium and if you don't do the sod thing (and even if you do, quite honestly) it's even worse. You shoehorn a field into awkward geometry. It's just not good. You normally (unfortunately) get turf with permanent football lines and a field with a crown with a high school football stadium, but at least the stands run parallel to the touchlines and the seats aren't angled towards a corner. Check me if I'm wrong, but is this how we're looking for 2015? (Assuming no one changes venues.) Baseball Stadiums Arizona (Peoria Sports Complex) Louisville (Slugger Stadium) Tulsa (ONEOK Field) High School/other Football Stadiums Dayton Oklahoma City Wilmington Charlotte (Memorial Stadium 2015) Richmond Soccer Stadiums Pittsburgh Charleston Sacramento Rochester LAGII (soccer-ish) Orange County (soccer/track) Harrisburg (still needs to be replaced/upgraded) St. Louis Colorado Springs
Looks right ... not a bad ratio. I agree with everything you say, just don't know if it's a huge difference, most of the times the ammenities in a minor league park are better than a high school football stadium and location is an upgrade in Louisville and Tulsa (near downtowns). But I get what you're saying!
I think I'm one of the few who doesn't hate the baseball sightlines for soccer. I think the upper deck seats at Yankee Stadium (particularly in left field) will be great spots for NYCFC, at least.
congratulations Louisville http://uslpro.uslsoccer.com/scripts/runisa.dll?M2:gp::72013+L3/Display+E+NDX+NDX+814775