Lynn Family Stadium — home of Louisville City FC and Racing Louisville FC — continues to receive special recognitions now more than two years after opening, adding to the list a Phoenix Award for brownfield redevelopment at the Butchertown neighborhood site.
The 2022 Phoenix Awards winners were announced Wednesday night at the National Brownfields Conference in Oklahoma City. Linebach Funkhouser Inc. Principal Geologist Bill Johnston, Messer Construction Project Executive Jason Larkin and Jeff Mosley, former general counsel for Louisville Metro Government, accepted on Lynn Family Stadium’s behalf. The crystal trophy will be presented to the city, its professional soccer clubs and fans at a game later this season.
“We are thrilled to be recognized for this prestigious award,” said James O’Connor, president of LouCity and Racing. “Our ownership group and metro government deserve enormous credit along with Linebach Funkhouser. It shows what is achievable when everyone works together to better our city.”
Lynn Family Stadium sits on 35 formerly underutilized acres that, until construction started, were dotted with storage tanks, storage facilities and used cars. Millions of dollars were put into brownfield redevelopment as part of the project. Over time, development adjacent to the soccer stadium will line the property.
The Phoenix Awards have for more than 20 years called attention to those who give productive uses to contaminated areas, stimulating economic development and community engagement. Going back to 1999, then-newly opened Cardinal Stadium at the University of Louisville was the other Kentucky project to win these same Region 4 honors, which comprise southeast states grouped by the Environmental Protective Agency.
“The Louisville Soccer Stadium project was a massive undertaking, and thanks to the efforts of many dedicated public servants and community-minded individuals from the private sector, we created a completely new face for Louisville as one enters and exits our city,” said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. “Most importantly, this innovative project transformed a brownfield into a visually stunning and vibrant place to be enjoyed by Louisvillians and visitors for decades to come.”
Owned by Soccer Holdings, LLC, and managed by ASM Global, Lynn Family Stadium was in 2021 bestowed Greater Louisville Inc.’s Silver Fleur-De-Lis Award, named Business First Louisville’s Commercial Real Estate Deal of the Year and nominated for “Stadium of the Year” in a worldwide competition hosted by StadiumDB.
The Phoenix Award comes on the heels of Louisville City FC welcoming a record crowd of 14,673 to Lynn Family Stadium for last Saturday’s victory over the Tampa Bay Rowdies. This week, Racing Louisville FC is playing host to internationally known clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur and AC Milan as part of The Women’s Cup, a second-year tournament.
Lynn Family Stadium has also hosted concerts, festivals and other community events since gates opened in July of 2020.
Located just east of downtown, the venue boasts seating in close proximity to the field, ideal sight lines and a number of amenities, among them a state-of-the-art video board and free WiFi. Visit LynnFamilyStadium.com for more information as well as a full schedule of stadium events.
