It's not quite the Maracana and a little more than the New Recreation Ground, until recently the home of Grays Athletic. Today I managed to get into the home of FC Louisville. A baseball game had just ended at Louisville Slugger Field (what a great name), the stadium that FC Louisville share with the baseball team. Sadly, even though I tried there were no football shirts for sale, only baseball.
Baseball stadiums were made for baseball and are not extremely football friendly. The majority of them have three sides, three sides for fans and an open side. Viewing is not perfect from every seat for football but, as a workable option for a new football team, it works to be able to use an existing stadium. But apart from the spectator issues what gets me is the removal of the dirt track between the bases and, even more, the elimination of the pitcher's mound. In time for Louisville's inaugural season the mound was fitted with a retractable jack to make it level for football. It's something the groundsmen at Wembley of the Bernabeu don't have to consider.
The team started was founded in 2014 after a group of football supporters in the city campaigned for a professional team. As Orlando were moving to the MLS a 'franchise' was available in the United Soccer League and Louisville bought into the league, with the owners of Orlando as a minority investor. Now please don't expect the next few lines to be me explaining franchises in American football and the ownership structure. It's been a long day and I know I've done it already.
A week ago I would have been here for the big local derby between Louisville and FC Cincinnati. My neighbour back home would have been excited for me to watch baseball at Slugger Field. We missed the game today but if we'd been here last week I might have campaigned for a trip to Slugger Field for a football match that would have been similar to watching Gray Athletic play Canvey Island. (I'm being unfair to Louisville and Cincinnati; their league has a more professional set-up that the lower non-leagues in England. It's the small team, small stadium atmosphere that would be similar).
Leaving Cincinnati this morning we drove between the NFL stadium and the baseball field there. Both of them are massive. I mentioned the NFL stadium yesterday as potentially being part of the 2026 World Cup. Americans know how to go big. But there's also the other side: the romantic feel of the old, homely baseball diamond where now even football is played. And when it's called Slugger Field, well.....
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