Danielle Lerner

@Danielle_Lerner

Louisville City FC plans to build a soccer-specific stadium in Butchertown, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told the Courier-Journal.

The team will announce the stadium site on Wednesday, according to the source, who requested to remain unnamed because they did not have permission to speak on the matter.

Louisville City FC delayed official comment on the stadium, issuing a statement on Tuesday night that read: "We will make an announcement at 9 a.m. (Wednesday) regarding the future of Louisville City FC. To follow will be a 10:30 a.m. media availability at a location to be disclosed later."

Louisville City FC's development plans will also include a retail and office district around the stadium, according to a news release issued in January when the club hired global architecture firm HOK for the stadium design.

A 10.64-acre property located at 200 Cabel Street that formerly housed Challenger Lifts Inc. is a potential candidate to be part of Louisville City FC's development plans. The real estate agent in charge of the property, Dalton Dreisbach, told the Courier-Journal that the site's owners requested it be taken off the market in January. Dreisbach did not respond to questions regarding Louisville City FC's interest in the property. The property has an assessed value of $3 million, according to the Jefferson County Property Value Administration website.

Jerry Lentz, vice president of Challenger Lifts, confirmed the company had ended its lease at the Cabel Street property, which was set to expire in 2020. Lentz said last week, "We never say never," when asked whether the site was being pursued by Louisville City FC.

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Louisville City FC chairman John Neace told the Courier-Journal in January that the stadium would be located "in urban Louisville" and stressed visibility from highways as a top priority in choosing a stadium site.

Councilwoman Barbara Sexton Smith, D-4th District., whose district includes the Cabel Street site, told the Courier-Journal last week that Louisville City FC representatives said the team’s list of potential locations included Cabel Street but that she urged the franchise to consider building somewhere in western Louisville.

A city-funded study conducted by Convention, Sports & Leisure released last August recommended Louisville City FC build its own soccer-specific stadium by 2020. The club currently is in the third year of a five-year ground-share agreement with the Louisville Bats at Louisville Slugger Field.

The study proposed three funding models for a potential 10,000-seat stadium, all of which rely on a combination of private and public money with varying contribution percentages and have Louisville Metro Government doling out anywhere from $15 million to $27 million. At least one council member, Brent Ackerson, D-26th District, said the city’s spending priorities don’t justify Louisville taxpayers taking on any new debt to build a soccer stadium.

“We want to be careful not to slam the door in the face opportunity and at the same time not to stretch our city so thin it puts us in a difficult financial situation,” Sexton Smith said.

Reporter Danielle Lerner can be reached at dlerner@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4042.