Jonathan Lintner

@JonathanLintner

Inaugural season tickets to Louisville City Football Club games, which begin in March 2015, will start at $180, the USL Pro franchise announced Tuesday morning while rolling out a new look to its website. Louisville City FC will also form a Founding Member's Club offering benefits to its first batch of ticketholders.

Founding Members — those who place a season ticket deposit and pay in full by Feb. 1, 2015 — will receive a scarf, have their name on a plaque at Louisville Slugger Field and have access to special team events as long as they maintain a ticket.

Louisville City FC president Djorn Buchholz said he's seen other teams, most recently Atlanta's new Major League Soccer franchise, implement a Founding Member's Club.

"There are a great deal of people in the community that have helped to bring this organization to Louisville," he said. "The Founding Member's Club allows us to show our appreciation for years to come towards these supporters and fans who believed in this project and that will have been with us from the beginning."

The $180 tickets ($12 per game) are to either the Supporter Zone at the east end of the field — the only section with no reserved seating — with the same price applying to a Family Zone and South End section at the other end. Sideline West costs $255, Sideline East $300, Midfield Premium $345 and Upper Club Premium $505.

Season ticket prices are based on an anticipated 15-game home schedule that has yet to be finalized. If Louisville City FC ends up with more home dates including exhibitions, those tickets will be sold separately, Buchholz said.

The club is now taking season ticket deposits at LouisvilleCityFC.com. A deposit holds a fan's place in line for seat selection order. How to claim a seat and pay in full will be announced later.

All season ticketholders will receive 10 percent off team merchandise, 20 percent off any single-game tickets, first access to playoff and exhibition matches as well as an invitation to a preseason meet and greet with players and coaches.

USL Pro is the designated third-tier soccer league in the United States behind MLS and the North American Soccer League, though its prestige is on the rise to due a recent trend of affiliations with MLS franchises. Louisville City FC will link with Orlando City Soccer Club, of which its owner, local architect Wayne Estopinal, has a minority share.

Jonathan Lintner can be reached at (502) 582-4199. Follow him on Twitter @JonathanLintner.