We have a new lead on the effort for a new Louisville City FC stadium, as the team’s board of directors appoint John Neace, a prominent local venture capitalist, as the club’s new chairman and operating manager.
Neace, founder and chairman of New Albany-based Neace Ventures, is charged with moving the stadium efforts forward. The team plays at Louisville Slugger Field, a situation that pleases no one: it impacts Louisville Bats operations and doesn’t yield enough revenue for the struggling USL team. A recent stadium study, however, from the study from Conventions, Sports and Leisure International recommends a 10,000-seat, soccer-specific stadium that would be home to a USL team. Should Louisville desire and eventually obtain an MLS club, the stadium could be expanded to seat around 20,000 fans. This was based on case studies of similar markets.
Neace replaces local architect Wayne Estopinal as chairman.
Here’s the statement from the team announcing the appointment:
The Louisville City FC Board of Managers passed a resolution this week to appoint John Neace as the new chairman and operating manager. John, founder and chairman of Neace Ventures, has been a member of the club’s ownership as well as the club’s board of managers since its inception in June of 2014. As Louisville City continues to put a winning product on and off the field, the need for a soccer-specific stadium has become apparent and immediate. John’s appointment gives the club a board representative who can focus a significant amount of time on what is and will be a laborious process in identifying the site, funding mechanisms and execution of this project. On a day-to-day basis, I remain committed to running one of the USL’s best-operated teams for an ownership group striving to bring the highest level of professional soccer to Louisville.
Image courtesy Louisville City FC.
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