mindset, it’s very challenging to manage at this
level. And that’s before you get to stretch the
comparative shoestring budget that most USL
teams work with covering player costs, coaching
staff, front office positions, building and managing
facilities- it’s no wonder that no fewer than 12
teams have folded or moved to a lower division
in the leagues seven-year history.
What’s most vital to a team’s identity and
financial livelihood is a place to call home.
Most independent teams in the USL have their
own stadiums, something the USL mandated all
teams must have by 2020.
Current LouCity ownership has addressed this
by unveiling plans to build the team’s bespoke
stadium, not to mention team offices, other office
space and housing and dining plans as well,
with the stadium slated to be finished by 2020.
This is vital not only for the organization itself,
but the community and culture that has coalesced
around this team. For Louisville City FC, getting
into their own place is of utmost importance.
At the moment, the team is in an unfavorable
arrangement with Louisville Slugger Field where
they have to rent the field, convert to a soccer
configurat ion, they built their own auxiliary
locker room and also don’t get any concession
or parking proceeds, among other things.
In short, the team is struggling to get toward
profitability.
Building a new stadium, will give the team a
brand new identity, and will enhance the teams
already tangible home field benefit. It’s no secret
that Louisville City has some of the best support
around, and a new ground, which hopefully
will have a safe standing section for the more
adamant supporters, solidifying this as the most
intimidating atmosphere in the USL, even better
than some MLS teams.
Another thing that comes with this new
stadium, is the renewed desire for getting into
MLS.
Supporters experienced a bit of this back in
2015 when the team was performing well on
the pitch, but the support had a ways to come.
Cincinnati is making an unabashed run at MLS,
brandishing their attendance numbers much
more than their results or table position. Will
they get an MLS expansion team? Maybe, it’s
doubtful. They don’t have a stadium, an academy,
stability in their coaching staff, all things that are
important for MLS consideration.
For those that aren’t familiar with the process of
gaining MLS membership, it’s not a simple or transparent
process.
First, it helps to have a proven market for the sport
in the region. Attendance at LouCity games has been
on a steady incline since 2015, up to over 8,000 average
home attendance, up almost 30 percent from last year.
Another facet that is taken into account is TV numbers:
Louisville turns in high TV ratings for English Premier
League (some weeks cracking the top five markets in
the country) although not as much for MLS.
But the biggest hurdle facing any MLS hopeful is the
exponentially expanding expansion fees. Once less
than $50 million, the nominal fee is rumored to have
ballooned to nearly $200 million for the latest round
of expansion teams. And that’s for the right to play in
a league that has some of the most parity around, but
is also what some people would call “contrived.”
MLS, as a consequence of establishing a new top-tier
league in an already cramped sports landscape, had
to make some creative decisions on how the league
would be run. Both player contracts and franchises are
held by the league itself, rather than the teams, with
team owners considered as “investors,” salary caps are
enforced with a few exceptions, something that would
be completely foreign to a European soccer fan, among
other key differences.
I happen to be of the opinion that the USL is the
perfect home for Louisville City FC. Once the stadium
is here, we’ll have a great facility and sustainable
revenue structure. With teams in Cincinnati, St. Louis
and Nashville coming next year, we have as exciting of
a rivalry landscape as anywhere in American soccer.
With several expansion teams coming to the USL in
the coming years, this league will become even more
exciting and diverse. We have a great coaching staff,
who’ve recently extended their contracts, headed by
James O’Connor.
The MLS? It’s a goal, maybe just a pipe dream.
We’d have to prove our city can support, build our
own stadium and sell it out consistently. After all that,
MLS has their own priorities, and those are certain to
change between now and the 2020s. We’re in the USL
now, and I’m more than happy with that.
For residents of Jefferson County in Kentucky, you
can voice your support of the stadium by contacting
your district’s metro councilperson. Louisville City
has set up a portal for you to locate and contact your
representative at LouisvilleCityFC.com/Stadium.
35