Lexington pro soccer files third proposal for stadium. Here’s the newest location
Lexington Sporting Club has filed another application for a 6,500 seat soccer stadium.
The professional soccer club, which had previously proposed a stadium off of Newtown Pike, has filed an application for a zone change and a conditional use permit for 5380 and 5354 Athens Boonesboro Road near Interstate 75.
The location is behind the Speedway/SuperAmerica.
The group wants to change the zone from a B5P to a B-3 zone. In addition, the group wants a conditional use permit for the B-3 zone for a stadium.
The zone change and conditional use permit was scheduled to be heard at Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting. However, lawyers for the property owners, iVCP Athens South LLC, said they have asked for the zone change to be postponed so it can answer questions posed by planning commission staff.
“We expect to be able to provide that supplemental information prior to the next meeting,” said Charlotte Turner McCoy, a lawyer for iVCP Athens South.
According to planning documents, city planning staff had recommended postponing the zone change and conditional use permit hearing until more information about the impacts of the developments on the rural area and technical questions about parking, among other issues, were addressed.
The planning commission agreed Thursday to delay the hearing until Jan. 12.
According to its application, the group is proposing a 6,500 seat soccer stadium at the edge of the property close to I-75. In addition, the plans call for a 45,000 square-foot training facility that will include “weight training and physical conditioning areas, locker rooms, medical treatment rooms, meeting and film viewing rooms, centralized office space for coaches and staff, and retail merchandise for professional teams and soccer fans,” according to a letter to the planning commission.
The stadium will be in use 35-45 days a year, the application for the zone change said. Men’s professional soccer plays from April to October. Women’s professional soccer will play from August to May.
The stadium will cost between $25 and $40 million to build, according to documents submitted to the planning commission.
The area is already in a commercial zone, lawyers for the landowners argued. The stadium and training complex will not be using agricultural land. The location, adjacent to I-75, will allow fans from surrounding areas easy access to the stadium. At the same time, it will still be convenient for Fayette County fans to get to, the lawyers argued in planning documents.
The stadium is adjacent to Lexington Sporting Club’s youth soccer fields, which were previously approved in September. The club has more than 1,400 kids and teens in its youth programs.
The Athens-Boonesboro Road location is the third proposed Fayette County location for the stadium.
The club first proposed building a stadium on the Central Bank Center and Rupp Arena High Street parking lot but ultimately withdrew its proposal.
The club then proposed locating the stadium and youth sports fields off of Newtown Pike but scuttled those plans after Mayor Linda Gorton and many in the agricultural community opposed that location.
Lexington Sporting Club has said its professional teams will play at a yet-to-be-disclosed college stadium in 2023 prior to the stadium being completed.
This story was originally published December 15, 2022 at 10:54 AM.
