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A milestone was reached today in the development of a soccer stadium district on about 35 underutilized acres in Butchertown. Financing was secured at a highly competitive rate for Louisville Metro Government’s sole investment in the project, $30 million. The general obligation bond anticipation notes (BANs) were sold to J.P. Morgan Securities LLC with a winning interest bid of 1.96 percent.
The city’s portion of the nearly $200 million soccer stadium district plan includes $25 million to buy and prepare the land, and $5 million to fund brownfield remediation and public infrastructure. Louisville City FC (LCFC) will develop the project, which will be anchored by a $50 million, 10,000-seat stadium. The development will also include retail, a hotel and offices, built by private investment.
In addition, LCFC will pay $14.5 million back to the city over 20 years for the land cost.
“This is a smart opportunity, and when smart opportunities to move our city forward come up, we’re going to take them. Pro soccer is an amenity that helps attract and retain young talent, and our entire city will benefit once this underutilized, highly visible space is reinvented as a bustling, vibrant soccer stadium district,” said Mayor Greg Fischer.
The project will create jobs and eliminate a brownfield currently filled with storage tanks, storage facilities and used cars. It also is expected to spark foot traffic to Butchertown, the Big Four Bridge, and Botanical Gardens. Additionally, it brings the prospect of a Major League Soccer franchise within reach.
A city-commissioned feasibility study confirmed that a soccer-specific stadium is needed to maintain and grow professional soccer in Louisville. The “stadium district,” to include the soccer stadium, Louisville Slugger Field and the Yum! Center, all within blocks of each other in the same line of sight, will build on the momentum downtown, in Nulu and Butchertown.
Mayor Greg Fischer today announced a $200 million economic development plan for about 35 underused acres in Butchertown that will be anchored by a 10,000-seat, 15-acre soccer stadium, allowing Louisville to compete for an MLS franchise.
“This is an exciting, worthwhile project that takes an underused, very visible swath of land and creates a vibrant new stadium district that builds on the momentum downtown, in Nulu and Butchertown,” the Mayor said. “This is a smart opportunity, and when smart opportunities to move our city forward come up, we’re going to grab them.”
(Listen to Mayor Greg Fischer Podcast segment about the development and stadium)
Louisville City Football Club (LCFC) will build the $50 million stadium and serve as developer of the overall project, which will include retail, a hotel and offices, built by private investment.
Louisville Metro Government’s sole investment is $30 million to purchase the land for the development and do brownfield remediation and public infrastructure improvements. The project is expected to increase hotel, restaurant and retail amenities nearby and create a “stadium district” where the soccer stadium, Louisville Slugger Field and the Yum! Center are all within blocks of each other, along the same line of sight.
The city’s $30 million portion will be covered by general obligation bond — $25 million to buy the land and $5 million as a contribution to brownfield remediation and public infrastructure.
No Metro tax dollars will be used for stadium construction. In fact, LCFC will pay $14.5 million back to the city over 20 years from sales of land, rent from leases of land, and stadium rent. In addition, if the stadium hits certain financial markers, the city has an opportunity to share in the upside of that growth, up to $2 million.
(See the factsheet about the development and stadium)
On behalf of Louisville City Football Club, Chairman and President John Neace, thanked Mayor Fischer and Louisville Forward “for their commitment to the growth of professional soccer in Louisville.
“Today marks another important step in our vision to be the best United Soccer League club in the country, with the ultimate goal of bringing Major League Soccer to Louisville,” Neace said. “We look forward to building a world-class soccer stadium and surrounding development that continues revitalization in the Butchertown neighborhood.”
With Metro Council approval, the city will work with LCFC on an application to the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) for a mixed-use TIF for the project.
To be eligible for state participation in a TIF, the local applicant (the city) must have some financial participation in the project; in this case, the city’s participation would be the money spent on land acquisition, brownfield remediation and debt service of the bonds to pay for the land.
The city will not commit any of its local property tax revenues to be included in the TIF.
Construction of the project will comply with Metro Ordinance 37.75 with respect to minority, women and local participation goals: 20 percent minority participation, 5 percent women participation, with 75 percent of the work going to residents of the Louisville MSA.
A city-commissioned feasibility study confirmed that a soccer-specific stadium is needed to maintain and grown professional soccer in Louisville. The study called for a soccer-specific stadium, with the ability to hold 10,000 seats, to be built by 2020.
