LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Tuesday marked an exciting milestone for fans of soccer in Lexington and for area leaders. The Lexington Sporting Club officially announced their multi-million dollar soccer stadium will be built along Athens Boonesboro Road, next to the I-75 interchange.
The team has worked for years to find a spot for the stadium, earlier looking at a downtown option or one near Newtown Pike.
While they have worked to find a final spot, the team has played at Toyota Stadium in Georgetown.
The new stadium will have 5,500 seats at the start, with the option to expand as attendance grows.
Team owner Bill Shively says they are trying to get it built by August of next year, which he admitted was ambitious.
“This is just monumental,” said Tyler Crane, who has attended each LSC home game. I think it is going to be electric.”
The team already has the third-highest attendance in the league, Shively said.
Surrounding the stadium are practice fields that are already built, where youth teams, for example, could play.
“Kids from throughout our region will be thrilled to play on these beautiful soccer fields that surround the stadium,” Mayor Linda Gorton said. “This location near the interstate will make this facility convenient and attractive for thousands of people.”
Also part of the project is restaurants and hotels.
Governor Beshear said the project will bring excitement to the area, jobs, and more tourism dollars, building on Lexington’s recent success.
“Fayette County, for the first time, hit the 1 billion dollar mark for tourism (last year), congratulations mayor,” Beshear said.
The stadium and soccer fields will cost at most 82 million to build The new fields alone are expected to generate more than $50 million dollars in direct spending over the next 10 years, according to the club.
The renderings of the new stadium can be viewed here.
