NWSL: Louisville the perfect expansion destination

On Tuesday, the NWSL announced that Louisville will be host of the league’s 10th franchise. The city and everything that comes with it is the perfect destination.

On Tuesday, the National Women’s Soccer League officially announced what had been speculated for a long time: the league is expanding to Louisville in the 2021 season. The franchise will become the league’s tenth barring other expansion.

The team will play at Lynn Family Stadium that will open its doors in the spring of 2020 and will also host the city’s USL club, Louisville City. The team’s logo and name will be announced later in this year and the expansion draft will be held later in 2020.

Louisville’s expansion continues a trend in the league with clubs in the NWSL being linked with MLS or USL franchises. Currently, five of the nine teams operate jointly with men’s clubs. The Orlando Pride, Houston Dash, Utah Royals, and the Portland Thorns coincide with MLS franchises, while defending champions the North Carolina Courage operate alongside North Carolina FC of the USL.

Louisville City has won back-to-back USL championships in 2017 and 2018 and will play the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the Eastern Conference quarter-finals on October 26. They are no bad organisation to link to.

The support of Louisville City in the USL is one of the best in the league, consistently leading the charge in attendance year in and year out in their current home of Louisville Slugger field. While there is no promise that USL support will directly correlate with NWSL attendance, there is a promising possibility for a new city helping break the NWSL out of its growing pains.

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One of the more pressing issues for the NWSL is finding professional stadiums for teams to play in. Teams like Sky Blue FC and the Washington Spirit are trying to leave their current stadiums and find a more marketable place to draw crowds. The two teams have played games in their city’s respective MLS stadiums Red Bull Arena and Audi Field and have seen fruition from marketing efforts.

In light of this, Lynn Family Stadium was vital for the league’s decision to move to Louisville. The soon-completed stadium will hold nearly 14,000 fans within a soccer-specific, downtown facility. With teams across the league looking to leave their current stadiums, the 2021 expansion side looks to have a home for the long haul in Louisville.

The 2021 expansion side have all the tools to grow, and subsequently, accelerate the success of NWSL expansion. A world-class stadium, a fanbase hungry for women’s soccer, and a successful men’s team.

Louisville’s expansion comes as no surprise as the city has the potential to be a leader for years to come while the league continues to grow. And for the NWSL, that is only good news.