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73-615: Louisville City FC was founded in 2014 as the successor to Orlando City SC , which had moved to Major League Soccer (MLS) and left an open slot in USL Pro (later the USL Championship). The team began play in 2015 at Louisville Slugger Field , a minor league baseball park, but expressed interest in building a soccer-specific stadium after reaching attendance goals. As part of the shared five-year arrangement at Slugger Field, Louisville City FC paid for minor renovations, including

146-424: A Bermuda and ryegrass blend. The club and city government hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the project on June 28, 2018, which included the ownership group, Kentucky governor Matt Bevin , and Louisville mayor Greg Fischer. The stadium was originally estimated to cost $ 45 million but costs rose to $ 60–65 million at the time of the groundbreaking. A joint venture of Messer Construction and Harmon Construction

219-479: A cinema and a boutique hotel. An estimated 500,000 square feet (46,000 m ) of floor space being created, including a 15-story structure. As the plan would require $ 130 million in local and state tax rebates for Cordish, it requires approval from the Louisville Metro Council and Kentucky General Assembly . There is no official start time for the project, as financing is still being secured by

292-618: A distinct flavor. In January 2014, a potential local ownership group invited the owners of Orlando City Soccer Club to Louisville to meet with The Coopers. After the meeting, Orlando City owner Phil Rawlins noted that The Coopers were already a "great supporters group" and predicted that a professional team would be successful in Louisville. Louisville City's main league and regional rivals are FC Cincinnati , Saint Louis FC , Indy Eleven , and Lexington SC . Louisville City FC played its first professional match against Saint Louis FC on

365-468: A mass expansion of the city's Waterfront Park , both completed in 1998, sparked new development along the eastern edge of downtown, with entire abandoned blocks rebuilt with new condominium units and shops. Also, new to Louisville is the 22,000-seat KFC Yum! Center at Second and Main Streets which was completed in 2010. Early residences outside of the forts, still mostly wood structures, were built along

438-608: A mere 100 miles apart from each other along the Ohio River. Due to this proximity, the matches tend to draw well and often featured aggressive play for local bragging rights. The Dirty River Derby, as far as being a divisional rivalry, ended following the 2018 season with FC Cincinnati's move to MLS. Louisville City FC first played against another regional club, the Indy Eleven , during the 2015 U.S. Open Cup , in which Louisville City won, 2–0. The two clubs would meet again in

511-419: A more than $ 10 million modernization. In 2007 downtown Louisville became Jefferson County's tenth Multiple Listing Service zone. Housing units available downtown were expected to double between 2005 and 2010, from 1,800 to nearly 4,000, after increasing by only 900 units from 1985 to 2005. This is both a result of new condominium construction and efforts to convert existing buildings into mixed usage, such as

584-607: A proposed site and were negotiating a public–private partnership to fund the project. The club hired HOK as the architect for the stadium project, which would also include a mixed-use development with offices and retail, in January 2017. On April 12, 2017, Louisville City FC announced its intention to build a 10,000-seat stadium on a 40-acre (16 ha) industrial site in the Butchertown neighborhood east of Downtown Louisville. The stadium and surrounding development would cost

657-678: A regular season match between Louisville City FC and Birmingham Legion FC . A fixture for Louisville City FC in the 2020 U.S. Open Cup was also scheduled on April 7. The home opener and cup fixture were cancelled by the suspension of USL and U.S. Open Cup play announced in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic . The opening date was pushed to July 12, 2020, with a home match against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and capacity limited to 30 percent (4,600 spectators). During

730-491: A retractable pitchers mound designed by the original team owner Wayne Estopinal, and a rental fee of $ 5,000 per match. The new team drew an average attendance of over 6,000 fans the inaugural season, second among teams in the USL. However, they were unable to generate revenue as a secondary tenant at Slugger Field due to unexpected expenses. In August 2015, high-level talks with Mayor Greg Fischer concerning stadium planning began as

803-460: A second skywalk connects from the garage across Third Street to the new KFC Yum! Center . Downtown Louisville is the oldest part of the city of Louisville, whose initial development was closely tied to the Ohio River . The largest early fort, Fort Nelson , was built in 1781 near what is today the corner of 7th and Main streets. Many early residents lived nearby after moving out of the forts by

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876-551: A seedy reputation due to its many burlesque theaters). Main Street was the city's initial commercial hub for nearly a century. By 1830, Louisville passed Lexington as Kentucky's largest city, with a population over 10,000. The steamboat era saw the opening of the Louisville and Portland Canal just west of downtown, and local commerce picked up further with the founding of banks and manufacturing. Most of Louisville's population

949-567: A series of friendlies the following two seasons, as well as the 2016 U.S. Open Cup , where Indy would defeat Louisville by a score of 2–1. The arrival of the Eleven to the United Soccer League in 2018 resulted in the two becoming divisional rivals, and was given the unusual title of "Louisville-Indianapolis Proximity Association Football Contest" , or "LIPAFC" during the season by both clubs on social media. In 2021, Lexington SC

1022-413: A shift in focus as areas like Phoenix Hill , Russell and what is now Old Louisville began to be built on the edges of downtown, particularly after the city annexed those areas in 1868. Railroads lead to a diminished role for the river in transportation, further reducing the importance of downtown in favor of areas on what was then the edge of the city, along rail lines. In 1886, the first skyscraper,

1095-611: A stage and temporary floor area specially designed to protect the turf. Louisville City FC Louisville City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky . The team plays in the USL Championship , which is currently the second tier of the American soccer pyramid . The club was founded in 2014 after Orlando City 's USL team franchise rights were relocated to Louisville and played their first USL season in 2015. After reaching

1168-501: A total of $ 200 million to construct, including financing assistance from the state government. In September, Mayor Fischer announced a $ 30 million financing plan from the city that would buy the necessary parcels at the stadium site and contribute to infrastructure improvements. The financing plan was approved by the Metro Council the following month, along with an application to the state government for tax increment financing for

1241-553: A trio of white fleur de lis marks. The gold from the original crest was removed due to branding concerns. They have a pre-professional team Louisville City U-23 in USL League Two . On March 9, 2020, the team announced the development of their youth academy, which is the first professional academy of its kind in Louisville and the state of Kentucky. The academy will feature two teams, one for boys and one for girls, starting at age 8 and continuing for ages under 19. The goal

1314-743: Is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the club. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Louisville City FC seasons . ^ 1. Avg. attendance include statistics from league matches only. ^ 2. Top goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in league, league playoffs, U.S. Open Cup , CONCACAF Champions League , FIFA Club World Cup , and other competitive continental matches. ^ Includes USL regular season, USL Playoffs, U.S. Open Cup. Excludes friendlies. ‡ Luke Spencer , Paolo DelPiccolo , & George Davis IV appointed joint interim head coaches. Commonly known as "The Triumvirate". USL Championship Other Downtown Louisville Downtown Louisville

1387-645: Is located behind the Henry Clay, and is now an upscale restaurant that occupies the entire Wright-Taylor building. Projects in the works include the construction of a wharf along the Riverwalk Trail , and the Ohio River Bridges Project , involving the reconstruction of Spaghetti Junction (the intersection of I-65 , I-64 and I-71 ) along with the addition of a new bridge for northbound I-65 traffic. One recently completed project

1460-631: Is officially 15,304, with enough chair-back seating for 11,600. Lynn Family Stadium opened in 2020, with LouCity's July 12 match to Pittsburgh Riverhounds serving as the first game. In 2021, COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted, allowing Lynn Family Stadium to host its first full-capacity match on June 13 against Memphis 901 FC. In 2013, a group of soccer fans in Louisville formed a supporters group, The Coopers, to build support for professional soccer in Louisville. The Coopers take their name from Louisville's bourbon distilling tradition, where coopers make barrels that are used to age bourbon and give it

1533-684: Is the center of local and regional government. A glassed-in skywalk called the Louie Link stretches six city blocks and links together the Kentucky International Convention Center (KICC), Fourth Street Live! , three hotels ( Galt House Hotel & Suites , Marriott and Hyatt Regency ), and 2,300 hotel rooms. In 2010 it was extended from the Galt House to the new $ 16 million Skywalk Garage, an eight-level, 860-space parking facility on Third Street, and

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1606-552: Is the largest central business district in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the urban hub of the Louisville, Kentucky Metropolitan Area. Its boundaries are the Ohio River to the north, Hancock Street to the east, York and Jacob Streets to the south, and 9th Street to the west. As of 2015, the population of downtown Louisville was 4,700, although this does not include directly surrounding areas such as Old Louisville, Butchertown, NuLu, and Phoenix Hill. The five main areas of

1679-630: Is to provide opportunities for players to be seen by professional teams along with collegiate ones. On March 25, 2020, the team announced that the youth academy will become a member of the Elite Club National League. Louisville City is the first team involved with the ECNL in Kentucky. The teams of every age (8 to under 19) will compete with other ECNL members to qualify for the playoffs in the league. The Youth Academy will play at

1752-692: The 2015 US Open Cup but lost in the fourth round to the Chicago Fire of the MLS in extra time. Beginning with the 2016 season, Orlando City SC ended its affiliation with Louisville City and began operating the Orlando City B USL team. In 2016, Louisville City placed second overall in the league for the second consecutive season, and they also finished their season losing in the Eastern Conference Finals, this time on penalties to

1825-494: The 2021 regular season , the team earned a 10–1–1 home record. In October 2019, the NWSL awarded an expansion franchise to Louisville (later named Racing Louisville FC ) that would begin play at Lynn Family Stadium in 2021. The stadium hosted the 2021 NWSL Championship on November 20, 2021, after the match was moved from Portland's Providence Park . The venue's first concert was on May 8, 2022, when Janet Jackson performed with

1898-573: The Central Business District consist of: The tallest buildings in Kentucky are located in downtown Louisville and include 400 West Market designed by John Burgee , PNC Tower designed by Harrison & Abramovitz , PNC Plaza designed by Welton Becket , and the Humana Building designed by Michael Graves . Of the 16 buildings in Kentucky over 300 feet (91 m), 12 are in downtown Louisville. In addition, it

1971-506: The NWSL's Racing Louisville in 2021. Hackworth and the club mutually agreed to terminate his contract on April 27, 2021. Technical director Danny Cruz was appointed as interim head coach. He was named permanent head coach on October 11 of the same year. On August 17, 2024, during Lou City's home match against Charleston Battery , the club announced that rap star and Louisville native Jack Harlow had joined its ownership group. From

2044-481: The University of Louisville for construction of a collegiate soccer stadium named Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium , which opened in 2014 and was designed by Estopinal. The stadium's roof-affixed floodlight masts, which display a multicolored light show after goals, are intended to resemble eyelashes. The stadium is managed by AEG Facilities . Lynn Family Stadium was scheduled to open on April 11, 2020, with

2117-543: The "Bluegrass State". Following the announcement of Lexington SC's promotion to the USL Championship by 2025, consistent meetings between the two Kentucky rivals are expected. The team maintained the original colors of the Orlando City franchise; purple, gold and white. The first proposed team crest featured a golden Fleur-de-lis atop of a purple bourbon barrel. However, due to fan outcry this design

2190-461: The "LouCity" name and "combining elements from the traditional city of Louisville flag with LouCity’s Signature Purple. The new crest will incorporate Oak Char Black and Kentucky Limestone Grey into the official colors of the club." However, it lasted just three days until another outcry caused "LouCity" to abandon their brand-new badge on December 19, 2019. In a statement, club president Brad Estes said, "(O)ur recent brand rollout has failed you. We had

2263-533: The "magic corner" by the Herald-Post . The riverfront area of downtown was still being actively improved, such as with the building of what is now George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge across the Ohio at Second Street in 1929. After World War II , suburbanization increased and downtown began to decline as interstate highways further reduced the importance of its central location. Since the 1970s, downtown has been

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2336-414: The $ 20 million redevelopment of the historic eight-story Henry Clay building at Third and Chestnut streets into a mix of residential, restaurant, retail and event space. The redevelopment also includes property that extends east to Fourth Street, which will become a public piazza, and the historic Wright-Taylor building, a two-story, 13,500-square-foot (1,250 m ) structure that faces Fourth Street and

2409-585: The $ 30 million project Fleur de Lis on Main , indicate increasing residential interest in downtown Louisville. On September 9, 2013, Mayor Greg Fischer joined groundbreaking ceremonies for the second phase of RiverPark Place , a marina apartment/condominium development covering 40 acres along River Road, with a walkway west to Waterfront Park . In 1997, the Kentucky Towers was the largest residential building in downtown Louisville, and in 2015, just south of downtown, The 800 Apartments started undergoing

2482-500: The 1970s through the early 1990s included a former theater district on Jefferson Street that had become dubbed the "porno district". The businesses there were seen by the city as an eyesore since they were so close to the convention center, and most were demolished or burned down by the late 1990s. A few adult book stores and bars remained in the general area as of 2007. From the late 1970s to early 1990s, nine new high rises over 200 feet (61 m) in height were built in downtown. Unlike

2555-411: The 21st century, although some had been converted for other uses, such as office space. The Brennan House at 631 S. Fifth, which is operated as a historic property with daily tours, shows a glimpse of downtown Louisville's residential past. A structure at 432 South Fifth Street is the only example of a pre-Civil War residence remaining downtown; built in 1829 it has been converted to commercial use. By

2628-815: The Champion's Park. This complex was approved for a $ 12 million renovation on March 5, 2020, and is funded by Louisville City FC. The complex will include three seasonal grass fields and four turf fields available for year-round use. The complex will serve as a home for youth soccer in the city and will also be where the upcoming NWSL team will practice. The site is planned to be ready for play by Spring of 2021. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. All information in this section as of November 8, 2022 This

2701-583: The Cordish Company. Also announced in 2007, the glass and steel $ 50 million shopping and office complex Iron Quarter was to be constructed within the Whiskey Row Historic District , but the project was delayed and eventually set aside when property owner Todd Blue made an agreement with the city of Louisville in January 2011 to demolish the seven original buildings. In May 2011, after all seven buildings had been landmarked,

2774-595: The Division 3 league MLS Next Pro . The two clubs faced off in a pre-season match on March 5, 2022, in St. Louis as well as in the third round of the 2023 U.S. Open Cup . The rivalry with FC Cincinnati for the Dirty River Derby, less commonly known as " River Cities Cup ", was one of the most hotly contested matches in lower division US soccer until FC Cincinnati moved to MLS in 2018. The two cities are located

2847-500: The Eastern Conference finals of the USL playoffs in both its first two seasons, the club went on to win the 2017 USL Cup in only its third season of existence. In 2018, they repeated as champions, becoming the first team to win back-to-back USL Cup championships. In 2019, they became the first team in USL history to play in three consecutive USL Cup Finals, but they fell just shy of their third championship. In early 2014,

2920-486: The Kenyon Building, was completed on Fifth Street, followed in 1890 by the ten-story Columbia Building . The development of three large suburban parks and the electrified streetcar lead to the first true movement to the suburbs at this time. Some of downtown's business and industry followed people toward these areas. But by the 1920s the commercial center of Louisville was still nearby, at 4th and Broadway, dubbed

2993-456: The MLS affiliate and eventual league champions New York Red Bulls II . This marked the second season in a row that Louisville fell to the eventual league champions in the conference finals. In the 2016 US Open Cup , the team only won one match before losing in the third round to Indy Eleven of the NASL . The 2017 season began with the United Soccer League officially moving from the third tier to

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3066-423: The best intentions, but we lost sight of our responsibility to engage you in the process. We have stopped production on merchandise with the new crest and have opened dialogue with supporter group leadership about how to improve our club’s branding and crest.” On November 17, 2020, Louisville City unveiled a new, permanent badge designed by Matthew Wolff . The new design is a purple shield with white lettering and

3139-414: The borrowed funds. While the initial capacity of the stadium did not change, the revised plan allowed for possible expansion to 25,000, and it was also revealed that the overall plan could include a second hotel. On October 26, 2017, Louisville Metro Council voted overwhelmingly to approve the stadium deal shortly after the ownership group secured $ 130 million in private financing for the overall project;

3212-488: The city's previous tallest buildings, which were all set along the Broadway corridor, these new buildings were set closer to the riverfront along Main and Market Streets. Since 2000, downtown has seen another major growth spurt, although this one not only includes new high rises, but also a large scale return of large scale residential and retail back to the city center. The completion of Louisville Slugger Field along with

3285-408: The club also explored bidding for an MLS franchise. Estopinal and Metro Councilman Dan Johnson proposed a site at Champions Park, a former country club northeast of downtown, for a stadium that would initially seat 10,000 spectators and expand to 20,000 for an MLS team. The city government announced a stadium feasibility and financing study in January 2016, examining four sites in Louisville. The study

3358-535: The club announced that the stadium would be known as Lynn Family Stadium . The stadium bears the name of Dr. Mark Lynn, an optometrist who owned the Louisville-area franchises of the national optical retailer Visionworks . Louisville City's stadium is the second soccer venue in the city to bear the Lynn name; he and his wife Cindy are the namesakes of the University of Louisville's soccer stadium . Its capacity

3431-598: The club's inaugural 2015 season through 2019, home games were played at Louisville Slugger Field . It is a multi-use facility that serves as the primary home of the Louisville Bats , Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds . Though Slugger Field officially seats 13,131 for baseball games, an attendance of 8,000 was considered a soccer sellout due to limited viewing in the stadium's current baseball diamond configuration. The pitcher's mound at Slugger Field

3504-536: The council voted at the same time to apply to the Kentucky General Assembly for a tax-increment financing district for the project. The stadium is currently projected to open in March 2020, satisfying a USL mandate that all franchises play in soccer-specific stadiums by the 2020 season. Groundbreaking for the stadium was held on June 28, 2018, with an initial capacity of around 14,000 fans with permanent seating for 11,700. On August 5, 2019,

3577-504: The field, with the open end facing west towards prominent downtown bridges spanning the Ohio River ; the open end also has a 40-by-72.5-foot (12.2 by 22.1 m) video board made by Daktronics , one of eight digital displays at the stadium. The original playing surface was Bermuda grass sod that was grown in Indiana and maintained with an underheating element. Forced to initially re-sod too often, grow lights were later added for

3650-516: The first ever "threepeat", falling 3–1 against Real Monarchs SLC , the USL affiliate of the MLS' Real Salt Lake . On January 13, 2020, it was announced that James O'Connor would be returning to the organization after being fired from Orlando City SC in October 2019. This time he will serve as executive vice president of development where he will oversee the establishment of the team's youth soccer academy. O'Connor will also help with hiring staff for

3723-401: The late 20th century, downtown Louisville had acquired a reputation as a place to work and visit during the week but which shuts down evenings and weekends. The first changes to this were the conversion of old warehouse and factory space to loft apartments in the late 1980s. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, new developments of luxury condominiums such as the 22-story Waterfront Park Place , and

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3796-548: The latter's inaugural campaign in 2015, and Louisville City featured as the Lions' USL affiliate team. The club maintained the colors of the Orlando City franchise, and installed former Orlando City player-coach James O'Connor as its first manager. In their first season in 2015, the club finished second in the league in points. In the playoffs they made it to the Eastern Conference finals before falling 1–0 to eventual league champions Rochester Rhinos . The team won two matches in

3869-401: The mid-1780s, although little remains of the earliest (mostly wood) structures. Early plans of the city, such as William Pope's original plan in 1783, show a simple grid on an east–west axis along the river. The earliest streets, Main, Market and Jefferson retain their original names from the plan, while the smaller Green Street is now known as Liberty (it was renamed after Green Street acquired

3942-515: The modern street grid on early lots sold to settlers, but have all been demolished over time. What became the almost entirely office and parking-lot dominated downtown still had many solidly single family residential blocks on its fringes up until the early 20th century. Streets near Broadway, such as Chestnut, were lined with large mansions of the owners of businesses on Main and Market streets. Though these houses were built of brick and other longer-lasting materials, none remained single family homes by

4015-469: The opening day of the 2015 USL season, winning 2–0. Since then the two sides have fostered a friendly rivalry for the Kings' Cup. The rivalry went dormant when Saint Louis FC dissolved in October 2020 due to the announcement of a future St Louis MLS expansion team, controlled by competing ownership. A renewal of the rivalry has occurred, starting in 2022 when St Louis City SC's reserve team began play with

4088-521: The owners of Orlando City 's USL team, encouraged by minority owner Wayne Estopinal, met with city of Louisville officials to explore moving the team that would be displaced by Orlando's new MLS franchise. Estopinal became the majority owner and the club formally announced their relocation to Louisville in June 2014. Orlando City SC held a minority ownership stake in Louisville City FC during

4161-564: The second on the United States Soccer Pyramid, solidifying Louisville City and the rest of the league as the second biggest in the country. This season also saw Louisville bring home the league championship for the first time. The team placed first in the eastern conference and second overall. In the playoffs, they almost fell to the New York Red Bulls II on penalties in the Eastern Conference Finals for

4234-558: The second straight season, but they narrowly squeaked out a win. This was the third straight season that Louisville would make it to the conference finals. In the final match, they defeated the Swope Park Rangers , an MLS affiliate, 1–0 to lift their first ever league championship. In the US Open Cup they fell in the third round for the second straight season, this time to fellow USL team and main rival FC Cincinnati . In

4307-411: The stadium to be expandable to 20,000 seats, and the overall complex would also include offices, retail space, and a hotel. On September 22, 2017, Louisville Metro mayor Greg Fischer announced a stadium deal that calls for the merged city–county government to borrow $ 30 million in order to purchase the land, with Louisville City investors responsible for developing the site and repaying about half of

4380-400: The stadium. On August 5, 2019, Louisville City FC announced that the stadium would be named Lynn Family Stadium for Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn, who had purchased the ten-year naming rights for an undisclosed amount. Dr. Lynn, an optometrist, owned the Louisville-area franchise of the national optical retailer Visionworks , formerly known as Dr Bizer's Vision World. The Lynns had also donated to

4453-553: The subject of both urban renewal and historic preservation efforts. While many new buildings have been built, it has sometimes been at the expense of older landmarks, such as the Tyler Block . Many buildings sat totally or mostly vacant at this time, and some became dilapidated to the point where they burned down or had to be razed. Many riverfront industrial sites were abandoned or saw limited use, many were eventually redeveloped into Louisville Waterfront Park . Other issues in

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4526-597: The summer of 2018, James O'Connor stepped back as manager in order to take the head coaching position at MLS club Orlando City SC. James O'Connor left the team with a 71–28–26 record and a USL Cup win from the previous season, along with the first ever franchise win over an MLS team against the New England Revolution in the 2018 U.S. Open Cup Tournament . The team was then coached under the triumvirate of three players, George Davis IV , Paolo DelPiccolo , and Luke Spencer . On August 2, 2018, John Hackworth

4599-623: The surrounding development. Property acquisition of the four parcels that comprise the stadium site was completed in November 2018 at a cost of $ 24.1 million. The tax increment financing proposal was approved by the state government in May 2018, allowing for $ 21.7 million in financing over a 20-year period within a special district created by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority . The club

4672-458: Was abandoned and a design contest was held to select a new crest. The winning design consists of a purple Fleur-de-lis recessed into a golden bourbon barrel at the bottom with a partial skyline of the City of Louisville at the top. The partial skyline includes Preston Pointe, 400 West Market , PNC Tower , and the Humana Building . On December 16, 2019, Louisville City unveiled a new badge, using

4745-466: Was appointed as the team's second-ever head coach. On November 8, the team made USL history by becoming the first team to repeat as champions of the league. The team defeated Phoenix Rising FC 1–0. On November 30, 2018, minority owner and key founder, Wayne Estopinal, died in a plane crash on the way from the Louisville area to Chicago. The following season, Louisville City made it to their third consecutive USL championship game but failed to complete

4818-531: Was completed in August and recommended a 10,000-seat stadium that would cost $ 30–50 million depending on the mix of public and private funds, but did not name potential sites. The club appointed John Neace as chairman and operating manager in September 2016, with a focus on planning for the stadium. In a December interview with The Courier-Journal , he revealed that the club had been actively acquiring property at

4891-694: Was criticized by a councilmember during early planning for removing a homeless camp at the stadium site in February 2018; the club ownership donated funds to a homeless advocacy group to house the displaced residents in hotels for two months. HOK designed the stadium and drew inspiration from other venues, including PayPal Park in San Jose, California , Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah , and Little Caesars Arena in Detroit . The roof's exterior-facing façade

4964-500: Was designed to resemble a bourbon barrel . The stadium was designed to offer sightlines for fans inside the venue, while also improving the cityscape from outside. In its initial configuration, Lynn Family Stadium has 11,700 seats, a Premier Club area with 250 seats, and 18 luxury suite boxes. The stadium's total capacity is 15,304 spectators with a safe standing area for supporters' groups and would be expandable to 20,000 with additional construction. The stands enclose three sides of

5037-534: Was founded just 78 miles away in Lexington, Kentucky. In their first matchup in 2023 during the U.S. Open Cup, the Announcer on Bleacher Report Soccer dubbed the rivalry as being "The Kentucky Derby Derby". Louisville City would go on to beat Lexington SC 1–0. There is a dispute on the name, with supporter groups dubbing the contest as "El Bluegrassico", a reference to Spain's El Classico and Kentucky's nickname

5110-446: Was packed into downtown, which by this time stretched as far south as Prather Street (later renamed Broadway). Many still-remaining buildings reveal what the area was like at this time, with narrow, two to four-story buildings packing the streets. The area and the city continued to grow during the railroad era. However, the increased mobility of early trolleys , as well as the sheer number and diversity of people moving to Louisville, saw

5183-450: Was retrofitted with a retractable jack to allow a level playing surface for soccer games prior to the start of the inaugural season. In April 2017, the ownership group announced that it had an option to purchase five adjacent parcels of land, totaling 40 acres (16 ha), in the Butchertown neighborhood just to the east of Slugger Field for a mixed-use project that would include a 10,000-seat soccer stadium. The plan initially called for

5256-528: Was selected as the general contractor for the stadium project in November 2018. By May 2019, work on the roof structure was two-thirds complete and the lower levels of the stadium were in place. The structural steel elements of the stadium were completed in July ahead of work on the grass surface, which was installed in September. Construction was completed in early March, with a formal handover ceremony as Louisville City FC (Soccer Holdings, LLC) took possession of

5329-601: Was the conversion of the former Big Four railroad bridge into a pedestrian and bicycle only bridge, which opened on the Kentucky side in 2013 and the Indiana side in 2014. On August 19, 2007, city leaders and the Cordish Company , developers of 4th Street Live! , announced Center City , a $ 442 million, multi-year plan to develop 23 acres (93,000 m ), bounded by Second, Third and Liberty streets and Muhammad Ali Boulevard, that will include new housing, restaurants,

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