LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) — As final plans fall into place for the Lexington Sporting Club to build a permanent home, some people are excited and some are not.
An $82 million project already under construction has some business owners eager for what’s to come.
Athens Schoolhouse owner Angie Cox said “We’re thankful that we’re not having a big subdivision or another shopping mall. In our minds, something was going to happen, and we would much prefer it be a soccer stadium than be a subdivided area.”
Cox says this change is perfect for the lunchroom in the basement of their antiques business.
“So our hope is the fact that there are going to be lots of soccer players, not just from central Kentucky, but from all over the midwest and beyond that, they’ll come and they’ll enjoy this community,” Cox said.
The stadium was a big topic at tonight’s old Richmond Road neighborhood association meeting, but it’s not being met with much support.
John Tucker who lives off Athens Walnut Hill said, “We’ve been affected by the dynamiting and the blowing, the blast and all that and all that. We’re starting to see traffic impact as part of the things we’re hearing about. “
“We’re disheartened about the traffic. The clear cut of all the greenery is horrible, and all the lighting for the neighbors is awful,” said Mary Diane Hannah, who lives off Old Richmond Road.
Josh Salsman says he’s not opposed to having soccer fields for kids but is disappointed with how much more land is being bulldozed.
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“We’re in Lexington, we’re not in Louisville, we’re not in Bowling Green, we’re not in Paducah, we’re in Lexington and what drives Lexington? Horses. We start chewing up all this land. What is Lexington?” Salsman added.
La Quinta Inn & Suites hotel sits right across the road from where the stadium will be built. general manager Jai Henderson says it will kick his business up a notch.
“We already have soccer teams lined up to stay at our hotel and stuff like that and we’ve got families, businesses are already calling us as far as getting rates and things like that,” Henderson said.
If all goes as planned, the stadium will be open in about ten months.
