The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council approved a different location for a new Lexington SC stadium near Athens, but it’s not clear exactly where the USL League One team will proceed with a new facility.
Lexington SC began life planning a stadium and associated development on High Street in Lexington, but shifted planing to the suburbs later in the year. Work has already begun on a new soccer complex on Athens Boonsboro Road near I-75, which is expected to open later this year, but now the team is looking at a Lexington SC stadium at the site as well. What the County Council approved was a zoning change allowing for a new 6,500-seat stadium to be added to the site. From Fox 56:
Many of the people at this meeting are trying to block a proposal to build a soccer stadium on Athens Boonesboro Road even though the county planning commission approved it in January.
Sporting director and head coach Sam Stockley for Lexington Sporting Club said it’s important to have that stadium.
“We’re at temporary facilities up at Georgetown, it’s fantastic, it’s great, but it’s not our home and we need a place for a home for us to be able to train, to be able to produce our players, to be able to provide a pathway which we’re all invested to for our players from age seven, eight, nine, 10, all the way up to the professional league of where we are.”
The objection to the new stadium were pretty typical in nature: concerns about increased traffic as well as a location away from the center of the city.
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