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STADIUM UPDATE: LouCity Rolls Out the Green Carpet

By USLChampionship.com Staff, 09/27/19, 11:43AM EDT

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Mayor Fischer, Sexton Smith joined executives as turf began being laid at Lynn Family Stadium


Installation of more than 300 rolls of turf was begun on Thursday at Louisville City FC's Lynn Family Stadium, with the 11,700-seat venue set to open next spring. | Photo courtesy Louisville City FC

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville City FC rolled out the green carpet on Thursday as workers began laying more than 300 rolls of turf that will form the playing surface at Lynn Family Stadium, the new 11,700-seat venue set to open next spring in Butchertown.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, Councilwoman Barbara Sexton Smith and Messer Construction project manager Jason Larkin joined Louisville City Football Club owners and executives in installing some of the sod onto the soccer team’s new field.

GrassMasters, a sod farm in southwest Indiana, grew the sand-based Bermuda grass field, which incorporates the Tahoma-31 strain grass over-seeded with rye to create the ideal soccer playing surface. Several regional professional sports teams have sourced grass for practice fields and other playing surfaces from the Indiana grower.

“You could say that this week, we’re ‘rooting’ for Louisville City by getting the grass well-rooted into our state-of-the-art field system,” said Larkin. “We are so invested in getting this field system right that I personally visited the sod farm twice to check in on the grass growth. We are thrilled to see the green field come to life — it accentuates the great progress our team is making in finishing out our city’s newest iconic stadium.”

A high-tech SubAir drainage system was installed beneath the playing surface to combat inclement weather on game days, address challenges of the Ohio Valley climate and extend the growing season of the grass. On rainy days, the SubAir system quickly drains water off the field; on cold days, the system blows heated air into the roots to keep the grass greener longer.

“The pitch is the most important part of this project, and with the technology we’ve implemented, we’ll have one of the finest surfaces in America,” said Louisville City President Brad Estes. “Tahoma-31 Bermuda grass is specifically engineered for the transition zone climate that has cold winters and hot summers. Lynn Family Stadium’s SubAir system will enable us to keep our pitch green year-round and will drain water at a rate that will ensure we never have a rain out.”

Once in place, the grass will be watered, raked and fertilized. Ongoing maintenance will include its first mowing in about six weeks, regular watering and using heat to restart growth in advance of the first Louisville City game next spring.  

“The excitement in Louisville and around the region continues to grow as this world-class stadium makes impressive strides toward completion,” said Fischer. “This ambitious venture will help us create another destination district for visitors and residents alike, and today’s rolling of the green is literally helping lay the groundwork for Louisville’s future.”

“This amazing ‘green carpet’ is one more example of the greatness within our community has to offer when we work together,” said Sexton Smith. “Everything and everyone we needed is right here in our region and Butchertown is thrilled to be the official home of LouCity!”

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