This former Louisville soccer player is joining LouCity FC for th...

Justin Sayers | Courier Journal

Justin Sayers, Louisville Courier Journal

While Louisville City FC is focused on its semifinals matchup against New York Red Bulls II on Friday night, the University of Louisville is looking ahead to Thursday.

That's because if Louisville City FC advances to defend its United Soccer League championship on Nov. 8, it will play on U of L's campus at Lynn Stadium, and not at its home confines of Slugger Field.

Slugger Field is already locked in to host the 29th annual Festival of Trees & Lights from Nov. 9 to Nov. 11. Facing the winner of Orange County SC and Phoenix Rising FC, Louisville City FC would head to the significantly smaller Lynn Stadium — with a seating capacity of 5,300.

That's a coup for U of L, but a cramped environment for Louisville City FC, which drew 14,500 to Slugger Field for last year's title match. The game couldn't be moved to a different day or time because it will be televised live on ESPNU.

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"We would love to host it," said Louisville athletic director Vince Tyra, who is also a member of the Skyball investment group, which owns a portion of Louisville City.

Tyra said the school and the team could "pull this off fairly easily." Lynn Stadium would add about 1,500 seats with temporary bleachers and would reach "about 7,000" with standing-room only seating.

Louisville City FC played four games at Lynn Stadium this year during the U.S. Open Cup. Tyra said the money from that was used to replace Lynn Stadium's pitch with a "higher-grade turf," an important note considering the field at Slugger Field, which is primarily used for baseball, was replaced prior to last year's championship game.

"The atmosphere in our stadium is always terrific. I think it was really special during the U.S. Open Cup," Tyra said. "I would expect a pretty strong home field advantage if they're able to win [Friday] night."

Bryan Woolston, Special to the Courier Journal

Cardinal Stadium, which can hold about 61,000 people, wasn't really an option because its turf field is not ideal for soccer, Tyra said. The venue is also occupied by Topgolf Crush until Nov. 10.

Louisville City President Brad Estes said Thursday the date for the final was set in early October. Regardless of the smaller venue, he said fans — especially season-ticket holders — shouldn't worry about getting tickets.

He declined further comment, stressing the team is "focused on Friday."

Tom Farmer, president of The Coopers, one of the team's support groups, admitted fans were concerned about finding out.

"The immediate concern is of course the amount of people that could be packed into Lynn Stadium compared to Slugger Field," Farmer said.

Lynn Stadium has eclipsed 7,000 fans before. A crowd of 7,047 witnessed the Cardinals' women's soccer team defeat Ole Miss 1-0 and then the men's soccer team defeat second-ranked Maryland 1-0 when the facility opened on Aug. 29, 2014.

Louisville City FC averaged 7,888 fans in 17 regular-season home games at Slugger Field, according to announced attendance figures. That number was 6,822 in the first two playoff games.

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In the team's four games at Lynn Stadium, it averaged 3,355 fans a game.

Regardless, Louisville City FC won't match the attendance of last year's USL championship, which drew 14,456 fans to Slugger Field. That marked the largest ever crowd at the stadium and the second-most ever for a USL Cup final.

But Farmer said he doesn't anticipate it being a smaller crowd than usual.

"I think if we make it past New York we're going to find a way to maximize the amount of people in that stadium," Farmer said.

Home-field advantage has mattered to Louisville City FC since its inception in 2015. The team is 9-0 all-time in home playoff games heading into Friday night's matchup against New York. It's 0-2 in playoff games on the road.

It's also mattered in the previous two Eastern Conference finals. Friday marks the third-straight year LouCity and New York will face off in the conference finals. The teams each won a home game in penalty kicks before winning the USL title.

Louisville City FC coach John Hackworth coyly admitted Thursday "we've enjoyed being here in the 'Ville."

"There’s a trophy on the line," he said. "The obvious goal is to advance and to make it to the final."