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Louisville Remains on High After Cup Victory

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 12/15/17, 11:25AM EST

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A month removed from victory, club’s offseason has built on momentum


Photo courtesy Em-Dash Photography / Louisville City FC

TAMPA, Fla. – One month after the celebration in front of a stadium-record 14,456 fans at Slugger Field, the emotions that flowed from Louisville City FC’s first USL Cup victory for those within the club have remained remarkably similar as those they felt on the field as the trophy was presented and the party kicked off in earnest.

“It doesn’t feel any more real than it did the night of [the game],” said Executive Vice President Brad Estes at last week’s USL Winter Summit. “There was an overwhelming sense of relief at the end of that match. The conference finals were so dramatic and exhilarating, and the final was too, it was just a sense of relief to get through stoppage time – it felt like it was an hour-and-a-half – and we’ve been so busy since the end of the season with stadium tours and moving ahead through the process of getting our stadium built, we really haven’t had time to think about it.”

For a club that has come as far as fast as Louisville, the launch into the offseason since its victory against the Swope Park Rangers before the second-largest crowd in USL Cup history has drawn off its on-field momentum. Estes joked that he’d spent more time on airplanes and in hotel rooms in the past month than he had the rest of the year combined as plans for the club’s new soccer-specific stadium continue to take shape, allowing precious little time for reflection on what was a big night for the club.

Among those that have had more chance to reflect, like Head Coach James O’Connor, the strides the club has taken in its first three years have been major. Having experienced the launch of Orlando City SC in 2011 as a player, O’Connor sees parallels between his former and current club, with Louisville’s third season ending in the same manner as the Lions’ back in 2013.

“When you look at the initial launch you hope that it’s going to be well-supported, you hope the team’s going to be successful, and now you press fast-forward to three years on and you look back, you think, ‘wow, we’ve developed each year,’” said O’Connor. “The team’s been able to achieve more each year, there’s been great attendance growth each year, the merchandise sales, the business side is making sense every year, so we’re slowly starting to get to the areas we need to get to. There’s definitely been an alignment with both clubs.”


Photo courtesy Em-Dash Photography / Louisville City FC

The Lions’ USL Cup victory in 2013 in front of 20,886 fans at the Florida Citrus Bowl was arguably the moment that Orlando took its place on the national stage in earnest for the first time, and it can be argued this year’s final provided the same boost for Louisville. Estes certainly believes both the club and the USL benefited majorly from not only the drama of the contest, but also the scene in the stands that was viewed on national television.

“Given the fact that there was such a big audience there, such a big TV audience, and for our city, I don’t think I could accurately put into words what it means to be part of something like that,” said Estes. “I truly believe you’ll be looking back in five, 10, 20 years and say that this is the moment Louisville City arrived and helped our league take that next step.”

The support that night added another building block for LCFC as it broadens its visibility in the region, and on the national level, with Chairman John Neace appreciative of the way the club’s core support has provided a platform for the club to build upon. Nowadays, Neace often gets ticket requests from friends far beyond the core of the club’s support, with the atmosphere at the club’s games providing a reason to be on hand, in addition to the high level of play on the field.

“I think the fans, the supporter groups have been amazing,” said Neace. “Their patience in letting us grow up a bit as an organization has been great, and I think to the average person in Louisville, they probably weren’t a soccer fan three years ago, and they are now. They want to come back. They might not be to the point where they want to make every match, but they circle it on their calendar and they make certain games, and I don’t think you would have thought that would have been the case three years ago.”

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Louisville City FC Chairman John Neace, left, speaks during the USL Board of Governors Meetings in Tampa, Fla. / Photo courtesy United Soccer League

Those fans are eager for the chance to attend games at a home stadium of their own in the next few years, with Estes, Neace and the rest of the club’s front office now working to close the final details on Louisville’s deal. With the land secured by the city for the Butchertown location, Estes said the last hurdle will be securing the tax increment financing plan that has to be put into place.

Once that gets completed, and work begins, Neace said the longer-term projects that will strengthen the club’s foundation and potential plans for an integrated academy system will be among the priorities. With local standout Richard Ballard having led the way this season as the first Louisville native to take the field for the club, O’Connor’s hope is further down the line City will have more opportunity for young players to come up through its system, and potentially be LCFC players of the future.

“I think the next step for us is obviously finalizing the stadium, getting all of that boxed off, and then the pyramid system where you can integrate a PDL team potentially, and then an academy system,” said O’Connor. “You can then control the coaching the players are getting, you can create the philosophy and understanding at the lower level to get used to the expectation, and then you start to generate a conveyer belt of talent. There are pieces there that we’re aware of, and they’ll be slotted in at the appropriate time.”

As quickly as things have remained in motion in the month since Paolo DelPiccolo was raising the USL Cup, though, Louisville’s brass is excited to be paving the road toward the club’s future.

“I never thought I’d be in the middle of something this fun and that I’m truly passionate about,” said Estes. “I’ve been involved with some really good businesses with good people, but this is something that’s hard to describe unless you’ve been a part of it. Being an athlete myself, growing up playing sports through college, it’s incredible to be around the competition, the competitive people that push you every day with John and James and all the people we have on our board and in our ownership group, it’s amazing.”

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