A planned Louisville City FC training complex at Champions Park should bring more soccer events to the city, according to the team.
The Louisville Metro Council approved facility plans Thursday, and will lease the land to Soccer Holdings, LLC, which owns Louisville City FC. Team Public Relations Director Howie Lindsey said the new facility will help the team and boost the city. The team currently practices at Thurman Hutchins Park.
“The community of soccer right now is in need of actual fields. There’s just not enough good quality fields,” Lindsey said. “[This is] really the next step of our growth of soccer in this community. It will be a centralized hub for soccer in the city of Louisville.”
The planned $12 million facility would include four turf fields to be used year-round, three grass fields for seasonal-use and offices for the team’s coaches. A planned National Women's Soccer League team would also practice on the site, and youth sports teams could rent the facility for games and tournaments. Lindsey admitted construction could be a challenge — the proposed site is on top of a landfill.
“But the good news is we have a good team that works on sites like that,” Lindsey said, referring to the $67 million Lynn Family Soccer Stadium. “So we’re familiar with taking rough pieces of property and making them beautiful.”
The team next launches a site study, land evaluation and bid process for contractors. Lindsey said terms for youth access to the site are still being finalized, and a timeline for when the complex will be completed may begin within weeks.
