|
Louisville City FC is an American professional soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team plays in the United Soccer League, which is currently the third tier of the American soccer pyramid. Louisville City FC principal owner Wayne Estopinal acquired the USL license previously held by Orlando City when the latter began play in the 2014–2015 Major League Soccer (MLS) as an expansion side. Orlando City SC holds a minority ownership stake in Louisville City FC. The team maintained the colors of the Orlando City franchise, and installed former Orlando City player-coach James O'Connor as its first manager.〔http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/soccer/blog/os-orlando-city-usl-franchise-transfer-louisville-20140603,0,476606.post〕 Home games are played at Louisville Slugger Field, 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 is considered a soccer sellout due to limited viewing in the stadium's current baseball diamond configuration. The pitcher's mound at Slugger Field was retrofitted with a retractable jack to allow a level playing surface for soccer games prior to the start of the inaugural season. ==History== 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 a distinct flavor.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://louisvillecoopers.com/about/ )〕 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. The Coopers occupy a supporter zone in sections 121-123 of Slugger Field behind the Preston Street goal.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://louisvillecityfc.com/tickets/ )〕 Beginning with the 2016 season, Orlando City SC will end its affiliation with LCFC and operate an Orlando-based USL franchise. LCFC announced that while it has no immediate plans to seek an affiliation, it most likely will partner with an international franchise over an MLS one. Despite this move, Orlando City SC plans to maintain ties with Louisville. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Louisville City FC」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|