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UPDATED: Louisville To Commit $30 Million To Butchertown Development, Soccer Stadium

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer has announced details of a $200 million development in Butchertown, including a new 15-acre soccer stadium.

Fischer made the announcement Friday afternoon at the corner of Cabel and Adams streets.

Fischer said 35 acres in the neighborhood would be renovated for retail buildings, hotels, offices and other private investments. The city will buy the property for $30 million, but Fischer said it’s too early to discuss prospects for possible businesses and private investments in the area.

“This is very, very different from the financing arrangement at the Yum! Center, and that’s by design,” he said. “Creating this stadium district will help us to continue to build on the kind of critical mass of culture, events, activity, great food, great bourbon that we have here in our city. And you get that by establishing and further connecting these areas between growing neighborhoods.”

Louisville City FC, the city's pro soccer team, will pay for the $50 million, 10,000-seat stadium. Construction for that stadium is set to begin in 2019. The team will later reimburse the city $14.5 million for the land purchase.

Mike Mountjoy, a co-chair of the stadium, said the investment gives Louisville a chance to host its first major league team.

“I don’t think we’re going to end up with a professional basketball team, and the professional football teams are in St. Louis, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Nashville,” Mountjoy said. “This is an opportunity for a major league sport that’s going to be on-par with major league professional basketball, the NBA and the NFL, down the road.”

Mountjoy said the space could host dozens of other yearly events once it’s built and could expand to double the number of seats. The stadium is scheduled to be completed by March of 2020, in time for that year's soccer season.

 

This story has been updated.

Kyeland Jackson is an Associate Producer for WFPL News.