Plans to construct a training facility for Louisville’s upcoming NWSL team are being pitched, with club officials seeking to build it at a local park.
Louisville’s NWSL squad, Proof Louisville FC, will play its home matches at Lynn Family Stadium when it launches as an expansion team in 2021. Ahead of the launch date, a proposal has surfaced to construct an off-site training complex at the existing Champions Park.
Under the proposal, the team would lease about 20 acres of the park, using it to construct a complex that features a one-story building with a locker room and offices. The facility would also offer several practice fields–including those with natural-grass and turf surfaces–that would be available to youth leagues in multiple sports, including soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse.
Details about the proposal were presented to a city committee last week, as the club is working to gain local and state approvals to move forward with the project. More from the Courier-Journal:
Pitching the idea to Louisville Metro Council’s Parks and Sustainability Committee last week, James O’Connor, former Louisville City FC coach and executive vice president of development for Soccer Holdings, said the project “presents a wonderful opportunity for us as a city to be able to showcase the whole city.”
While the NWSL team inspired the proposal, O’Connor also said that the practice fields — a few grass and four turf — would be available to youth leagues, such as soccer, field hockey and lacrosse….
Tim Mulloy, a board member of Soccer Holdings and Louisville businessman, said the group is not asking the city for money but rather permission to use the land. Mulloy estimated the project would cost roughly $10 million to $12 million.
“I will make this point crystal clear: There’s a lot more to be figured out,” Mulloy said.
Plans for the Louisville NWSL expansion club were announced in October. Soccer Holdings, LLC, the ownership group of USL Championship’s Louisville City FC, will operate the NWSL team, with both clubs to play home matches at Lynn Family Stadium. Louisville City FC will play its first match at the upcoming venue in April.
Rendering of Lynn Family Stadium courtesy Louisville City FC.
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