USL President: Planned Louisville City FC soccer stadium will be 'showpiece stadium'

• Louisville City FC vs. Bethlehem Steel FC, 7:30 p.m. Friday at Louisville Slugger Field

The United Soccer League playoffs, securing a top seed and soccer stadium funding proposals — it's a busy time for Louisville City FC.

The club, which earned a No. 1 seed for the first time in history, hosts No. 8 seed Bethlehem Steel FC in the first round of the playoffs 7:30 p.m. Friday at Louisville Slugger Field.

The Courier-Journal caught up with USL President Jake Edwards to talk about the playoffs, league expansion and soccer stadium plans. 

Some responses have been edited for length and clarity. 

As a fan of the game and a former player, what do you think has contributed to Louisville City's success this season? 

I think Louisville's been a remarkable success for the USL in a short space of time, and have been able to build upon the success they had last season. They've had over 20 percent growth in ticket sales, they added to the front office staff with key additions like Steve Livingstone, the COO. I have to commend the hard work of (club chairman) John Neace and the ownership group and board who kept the momentum going and have been working with the mayor's office on plans for soccer stadium. 

And of course, James O'Connor, who continues to prove himself to be one of best coaches in North America right now. He is having tremendous success on the field this year, really building his name on their game this year, and fans have responded. I have to give a huge thank you to fans of Louisville over the last few seasons. This season they've been coming out in record numbers and growing a tribal following so we thank them for their support. 

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Have there been discussions of restructuring the two-conference format? Currently a Western Conference team like Real Monarchs can be crowned league champions without having played Louisville or other top teams in the East. 

Yeah, we've looked at that. It's not too dissimilar to MLS, which has the Supporters' Shield for highest points total. New York Red Bulls II had it last year (in the USL), Rochester the year before. It's an award that recognizes that achievement, not the champions of the entire league. It's something we'll probably make changes to moving forward. It's a fantastic achievement by Real Monarchs, and we're looking forward to the USL Cup. 

Recognition for the points total is something we're looking at whether or not we keep, whether that is recognized in an additional way, not necessarily as regular season champions. As we look down the road, part of the competition restructure we are anticipating is to move from two conferences to a three-conference alignment, which we will likely embark upon in the 2019 season. 

The league is set to keep expanding with five new clubs over the next two seasons. Does the USL look at locations of existing USL or MLS franchises as a factor in deciding where to add new teams? 

A number of factors come in when looking to bring expansion club into the league. First and foremost, does the market fit strategically in our league and allow for a regional rivalry or derby? Is there proximity to an existing USL club that makes sense?

Second, it's making sure there is a viable business plan for that market and looking at the ownership that is there and making sure any club can be successful. 

Finally, is there a plan in place for a soccer-specific stadium? That's a key component for us. Certainly, Louisville have been working diligently on that.

Certainly, we're not going to put a USL club right next to another USL club, or in an MLS market. We have to look at does that make sense, can the market sustain more than one club? It's on a case-by-case basis. 

Why is having a soccer-specific stadium by 2020 so important?

2020 was part of a 10-year strategic plan for the USL. Leading up to 2020, we had a number of key initiatives. That included expansion, broadcast digital strategies, strategic growth plans and part of that was around stadiums. 2020 came as part of a strategic vision, and that was to have teams and owners as primary tenants of their own venue. 

Is USL following MLS's lead on that? I'm sure you saw the news about Columbus possibly moving its team to Austin to get a stadium. 

It's important to all leagues; you have to have right venue to play in. If you look at minor league baseball maybe 15 years ago it went through the same issues. MLS evolved from playing in mostly NFL stadiums and moved into smaller more intimate soccer-specific stadiums. It had a dramatic impact on the business of those clubs and the success of the leagues.

It's really critical to get 8,000-seat to 10,000-seat stadiums and above given where attendance has trended for USL clubs over the last three years. In terms of the professionalism of the environment and the formation of leagues, it's critical we continue to build these stadiums. We have 12 soccer-specific stadiums now in the league. 

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How strict is that 2020 deadline? If Louisville is in the process of building its stadium but it still isn't ready when March 2020 rolls around, what's the move?

When Louisville joined the USL three years ago, there was a five-year plan to build the stadium and get to 2020. If it goes over 2020 but shovels are in the ground and they're building, of course, that's fine. We work closely with teams to have a plan and execute the road map to that plan. Louisville and John Neace worked incredibly hard, as has the mayor's office, to make that a reality. We certainly think that's going to happen. It's going to be one of the showpiece stadiums in the USL. 

Editor's note: After the initial interview, Edwards wished to clarify that the 2020 deadline could be extended a few weeks into the season, but not indefinitely.

It seems like a lot of fans, and owners, see the USL as a stepping stone to MLS. What are you doing to change that perception? 

We look at our league as an aspirational league. We want to build a league that's one of the top second-division leagues in the world. We have clubs and owners who are in it for the long haul, and the USL is becoming one of the best business opportunities in soccer with tremendous growth. Some owners and clubs over past 10-15 years have moved into MLS and become arguably some of the most successful teams in MLS based on the structure they built in the USL. I'm proud to have played a role in that but that's not how we define ourselves and that's not why our owners are joining the USL. 

What will the USL's relationship with MLS look like going forward? Will there be more or less "II" teams?

Our partnership with MLS will continue. We are working through a new look of that right now. We are going to be experimenting with new technical initiatives and new affiliation models. We challenge all our clubs, whether USL or MLS second teams, to meet and exceed all our standards and buy into the philosophy of the league. 

Will the broadcast partnership with ESPN continue in the same form next season?

We are going to have our championship final on national TV through ESPN (on ESPNU), and we are working with ESPN on new linear and digital options through the 2018 season. We are going to be building on our partnership with ESPN and making announcements in the coming weeks about some of those new additions. 

How many teams are set for the new third-division league in 2019?

You need eight in terms of a minimum number for sanctioning purposes. We are targeting upwards of 12 to launch the league with, and want to build out over a three-year horizon to get to the high 20s or low 30s. We will make additional announcements of those teams as early as the end of this year. 

Will any teams in that league have an affiliation relationship with USL or MLS clubs? And will there be promotion and relegation?

There'll certainly be a connection. That's what we're trying to build, a league structure akin to the league structure in England with three divisions all connected. We are working on that with the USL and this league and the PDL, our under-23 league. We're working on some options now, both the possibility of an inter-league cup and an affiliation relationship between the second and third division teams. 

Sports enterprise reported Danielle Lerner can be reached at dlerner@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4042.