Lexington SC ‘outstanding’ home venue plans

Article posted by Coliseum, October 26^th, 2023

Image: Lexington Sporting Club

The United Soccer League (USL) League One team Lexington Sporting Club recently announced that the club will build its soccer-specific stadium in Lexington, Kentucky (US) marking a monumental step forward for the club, soccer in Central Kentucky and the City of Lexington.

‘lexsporting.com’ quoted the Lexington SC Majority Owner Bill Shively as stating, “We are so excited to build our new home right here in the beautiful City of Lexington. The goal from Day One has been to build an incredible stadium in Lexington that our fans and the entire community can be proud of. I believe we are well on our way to accomplishing that feat.”

Tampa (US)-based the United Soccer League (USL) is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men’s and women’s leagues, both professional and amateur.

Apply for membership

The USL League One is a professional men’s soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by the United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championship and other leagues.

The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men’s soccer league in the United States. The United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) has sanctioned the USL as a Division II league since 2017. The USL Championship is one of the most successful professional soccer leagues in the world. The USL Championship season runs from May through July, with the playoffs decided through July and August. All teams play a regular season schedule of 14 games, seven home and seven away, within their division.

Chicago (US)-based the United States Soccer Federation, commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501 nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States.

The Lexington Sporting Club is an American professional soccer team based in Lexington, Kentucky (US). Founded in 2021, the Lexington SC played its inaugural season in 2023. The team was founded in 2021 and plays in USL League One.

The 5,000-capacity Toyota Stadium is a stadium in Georgetown, Kentucky, United States. It is the home field of Georgetown College’s American football, soccer and lacrosse teams. It also hosts Lexington SC of USL League One.

‘lexsporting.com’ further stated that the stadium, which will be built at the same location as the club’s youth fields off Athens Boonesboro Road near Interstate 75 in Kentucky, is already under construction. It will initially have a capacity of 5,000 with the potential to expand to a maximum of 11,000. The seven training fields and the stadium will represent an investment of up to $82 million, providing a unique venue where the youth and professionals will train on a daily basis.

The stadium is expected to open in time for Lexington SC’s Women first game in the USL Super League in 2024. The USL Super League President Amanda Vandervort said the stadium will serve as an outstanding home for the Lexington SC.

Added Vandervort, “This new stadium will showcase the best of what American professional soccer has to offer. With a new Super League team launching in 2024 and the USL League One team entering its second season, this incredible new stadium will be a special place to be when it opens next year.”

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear congratulated the club on the new stadium, which builds off of a $34 million tourism development project that was approved by the State and has brought seven multipurpose youth sports fields to the same piece of property. The new fields alone are expected to generate more than $50 million in direct spending over the next 10 years.

Governor Beshear stated, “The Lexington Sporting Club’s investment builds on the economic growth we are seeing all across the Commonwealth. Constructing this new stadium means that we are taking another step forward in building a better Kentucky -one where our kids don’t ever have to leave home to chase their dreams – or in this case their professional soccer dreams.”

Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton echoed Governor Beshear’s sentiments and said the stadium will build on an incredible legacy of sports in the City of Lexington – “Lexington already has an enormous fan base for soccer. Thousands of our children have learned to love the game by playing it. This new stadium will be an incredible home for our City’s professional soccer teams. Young people will enjoy the opportunity to play on the new soccer fields surrounding the stadium. The facility will support our hotels and our restaurants and produce new jobs.”

Lexington SC Women’s Sporting Director Michelle Rayner said the stadium will add to the momentum the club has built within the community over the past two years – “I’ve been around soccer in Lexington and Central Kentucky for a long time, so to see our club take this massive step forward is very exciting. By building this stadium, we will be able to continue to attract new fans and families to our club and our game.”

The Lexington SC Women’s soccer team is a group of female athletes who are passionate about soccer. The team is part of the Lexington Sporting Club and will complete in the USL Super League (women’s professional soccer launching in 2024). The Toyota Stadium also serves as the women team home venue.

Lexington SC Sporting Director Sam Stockley believes the club’s new stadium will help Lexington SC become a household name in Lexington, Central Kentucky and beyond – “Having played and worked in soccer all over the world, I can tell you that this stadium will set this club on a trajectory to achieve excellence on and off the pitch. It’s going to be a state-of-the-art facility and one that everyone in Lexington can take a great amount of pride in.”

Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.

Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.

Watch 250 member-exclusive videos with valuable tips for your venue