Study: Louisville suited for MLS, not NBA

Louisville City Football Club owner Wayne Estopinal said he was pleased, though not too surprised, to see the results of an American City Business Journal study saying Major League Soccer would best fit here as a major professional sports franchise.

ACB Journal this week assigned "capability ratings" to cities based on population, economic capacity, facilities and existing sports in markets, among other factors. Out of 100 possible points, the study rated Louisville a 70 for the NHL, 73 for the NFL and 78 for the NBA. For MLS, it was a perfect score -- 100.

"We felt that with the past experiences we've had with other markets and pro soccer, with a lot of hard work, Louisville could be in discussion" for MLS expansion, Estopinal said.

The local architect years ago invested in a minority share of the Orlando City Soccer Club, which moved from the United Soccer Leagues to MLS in 2015. Louisville City FC took Orlando City's place in the USL, and the two clubs now share an affiliation.

All along, it has been Estopinal's goal to build up a fan base in Louisville and take a similar leap up the US Soccer ladder. Of course, others are hoping to do the same. USL added 10 franchises this year, winding up with 24 in all.

One major obstacle involves building a soccer-specific stadium. Given what's happened this week, "It's definitely driven home we can't last long at Louisville Slugger Field," Estopinal said.

Louisville City FC won't be able to host a US Open Cup match in 2015 because of conflicts with the Triple-A Louisville Bats, whose home dates coincide with the tournament. Estopinal said team officials looked for other facilities in Louisville, "but nobody was willing."

Should his franchise eventually build its own home pitch, Estopinal said "it would be smaller for USL and certainly expand-able with seats, suites and amenities."

Orlando City made its move once it committed to a stadium. Estopinal said other factors were success in the club's home market -- both with ticket sales and sponsorship -- as well as a strong on-field product. Orlando won the USL title in two of its four seasons in the league.

Estopinal also previously said Orlando City paid a $70 million franchise fee to join MLS.

The NBA to Louisville movement still forges on, too, six months after the KFC Yum! Center drew a crowd of 21,091 to its first exhibition between the New Orleans Pelicans and Miami Heat.

While Seattle is a prime market to land a Western Conference franchise should the NBA expand, Louisville is among a handful of cities – much in part because of the Yum! Center – that could lure a team to equal numbers in the Eastern Conference. There is always, however, the arena's lease to consider. The University of Louisville gets first pick of dates as its main tenant, plus much of the revenue.

Louisville's 78 score in the ACB Journal study rates the market "borderline" in terms of economic capability to support an NBA franchise.