*not actually exclusive, there were lots of other people there who do this job for a living

Because I am occasionally considered by some at Louisville City to be a Very Important Person, and also because Howie Lindsey and his predecessors keep giving me media credentials that I never actually use, I got to join other local media people on an in-person tour of the new stadium today! Here’s a gallery of the mostly very bad photos that I took at the site.

It was awesome. It still doesn’t really feel real to me. I’m not sure it’ll feel real when it’s finally done, and maybe not even when City plays their first game there. The field is going to be big. The supporter’s section is going to look like a dang wall of crazy when it’s full. The lights are going to be awesome. The view out of the north end is going to be spectacular. It’s really just something else.

Brad Estes asks me every now and then “did you imagine X” when some big milestone hits the club, whether it was last year’s groundbreaking or a championship win or something like that. He asked me that question again today: “Did you imagine something like this back when?,” to which I quickly responded “[Expletive beginning with F] no.” I honestly thought we’d be at Slugger for a long time, and maybe eventually we’d have some kind of modular stadium kind of like Sacramento or Phoenix have, and then someday something else that I couldn’t conceive of would happen, or the club would go belly up and we’d reminisce about them the same way some folks do about the IceHawks or the RiverFrogs or the Redbirds.

The fact that there’s concrete and steel and PVC and cranes and stuff everywhere ensures that the worst-case scenario won’t happen. This stadium is a genuine statement of belief by the club owners in themselves, in soccer, in Louisville, and in us, the fans. They wouldn’t be doing what they’re doing, risking millions and millions of dollars, if they didn’t have faith that it was worth it; if there wasn’t some kind of reward for it, in cash or in kind. This thing is going to be the envy of the entire league, and probably the envy of several MLS clubs, too. Craven Cottage is a national treasure in England but I bet you’d be able to find a good number of Fulham supporters that would give their right arm to play in a place like we’re going to call home. It’s incredible.

Ok, some quick substantive updates: The steel on the project should be up by the end of next month, and then they’ll start on the roof. Around that same time, they’re going to excavate out all the rock and dirt where the field will be and roll in the sod that’s been growing over in Indiana for the last several months that will become our field. It’s supposed to be great. They want the grass to have plenty of time to bed in to be ready for the home opener in 2020.

About that. The project is still on schedule such that the stadium should be ready for use by the time next season begins, which is great news. Also, Brad Estes said the league has basically given LouCity carte blanche to pick the team that will help us inaugurate the stadium, a choice that, to me, just screams St. Louis. Though Indy would also be a very good shout (long live #LIPAFC), Morados’ first ever match was against STLFC and I think it would be fitting to open this new era the same way (along with a MAG RAM screamer to break it in). Plus, the Louligans travel well.

Okay, that should do it for now. March to the Memorial Day Weekend Match is coming in the morning. VAMOS MORADOS.