Louisville Kings President Steve Macy joined Terry Meiners on News Radio 840 WHAS to discuss the United Football League franchise coming to Lynn Family Stadium in March 2026.
The conversation covered stadium selection reasoning, head coach search priorities, ticket pricing strategy, tailgate planning, and early sales performance against other expansion markets.
Stadium Size Drives Fan Experience Strategy
Macy explained how new UFL co-owner Mike Repole pushed franchise leadership to reconsider venue choices after three teams failed in oversized stadiums.
“Three franchises went away, including the one I was running in Memphis. It was Memphis, San Antonio, and Detroit. All of them had sixty thousand seat plus stadiums that ten to fifteen thousand people, and they looked terrible. And it’s not a bad crowd, and you compared to the NBA, WNBA, not quite major League Baseball, but the other spring sports of fifteen thousand person crowds, A great crowd is going to look full.”
Lynn Family Stadium capacity fits projected attendance figures while creating full-house visuals that improve broadcast presentation and in-person energy levels. So funny how before Repole, the UFL fronmt office was against MLS stadiums, big time. I guess $$$ can change anyone’s minds.
Head Coach Search Targets Local Recognition Factor
Macy addressed coaching staff plans with emphasis on finding a recognizable face for the Louisville market.
“So as a marketer at heart, I’m hoping that it’s somebody that we know, and it’s somebody that’s local and has a lot of local panas. I don’t know who it’s going to be yet. I had heard a name, but you know, and it didn’t work out. We’re all hearing one name, yeah, because he made an NFL roster and so there’s a lot of that. But I think, you know, the idea here is to find someone that can be the face because the players are going to come and go over time.”
The franchise prioritizes head coach candidates with Louisville connections and name recognition over pure coaching credentials. The coaching hire strategy acknowledges player roster turnover while seeking stability through a recognizable local figure who can serve as franchise face for the next several years, not a one and done coach looking for a paycheck.
Lynn Family Stadium Tailgate Space Ready for Football
Macy highlighted how existing soccer infrastructure transfers directly to football game day operations without major modifications.
“I think one of the neat things about the FC team here is and there’s such a great tail getting space up on top of the hilly Yes, it’s it’s incredible. What that tailgating atmosphere he is. And we’re hoping we just go check it. Let’s play it right up there. We’re gonna run right up there and we’re to have a big tail gate up there. We’ll have parties, we’ll have inflatables, we’ll do all the things.”
The hilltop area currently used for Louisville City FC pre-game gatherings provides open space for Kings tailgate operations. The venue also includes family-friendly zones with artificial turf fields and inflatables in the north end zone area near the Ohio River.
Supporter Section Culture Transfers from Soccer to Football
Macy addressed how the south end zone standing section could adapt from 90-minute soccer matches to longer football games.
“We’ve already had several people reach out to us to say, what are we going to call ourselves? How are we going to organize this? Can we be part of it? The King’s Court is something, I mean, I love it. I like it was the soft plug. Yeah, the King to this Court. But I love all of those things. So we’ve got an already a group of fifteen to one hundred’s it says between fifteen one hundred that want to be that supporter group for our football games.”
Between 15 and 100 fans have contacted the franchise about forming an organized supporter section called the King’s Court. The south end zone supporter culture at Lynn Family Stadium typically involves standing-room sections with organized chants and flags, though football game length presents new challenges compared to soccer match durations. This would be similar to the DC Defenders atmosphere, which is one of the best in the UFL.
Ticket Deposits Show Louisville Leading Expansion Markets
Macy compared early sales performance across the three new UFL markets announced simultaneously.
“We have crushed it in this town in terms of putting deposits down, especially compared to Columbus and Orlando. Now the league has said it’s not a competition. I said, yes, it is. Of course we’re killing it.”
Louisville deposit numbers surpass the Orlando Storm and Columbus Aviators markets through early sales periods. Season ticket packages start under $100 for full five-game home schedules, with pricing aligned to Louisville City FC rates at Lynn Family Stadium.
The franchise expects to assign specific seating locations to deposit holders in early November 2025.
Steve Macy covered stadium strategy, head coach search priorities, tailgate logistics, supporter section organization, and ticket sales performance during his appearance with Terry Meiners. The Louisville Kings president emphasized how Lynn Family Stadium infrastructure supports football operations without major modifications while the franchise seeks a head coach with local name recognition to serve as the team’s public face.
Fans can secure season ticket deposits at UFLKings.com starting at $50, with seating assignments beginning in November 2025. The complete interview aired on News Radio 840 WHAS in Louisville.
2 Comments
by 4th&long
Glad they are covering the bases.
Would like to see a steady legit coach over pure name. Having both aspects would be the best of course.
Lynn Fasmily stadium is small, with 11700 seats or so plus what 3000-3500 more standing room. So getting 11k+ would be really good here.
Let’s hope they can. Its not a large market about same size as Memphis, but the Demo is better so they have a good shot. Of course Winning drives alot.
Looking forward to UFL 2026! LFG!!
by Johnny the Angry Fuzzball
At Louisville’s stadium size, they’d practically HAVE to sell out to be viable long-term. 10,000 is bare minimum at this level. So the fact that demand is strong (and it doesn’t surprise me: they haven’t had a team in a nationwide league for 100 years, and haven’t been let down yet) is a good sign. Louisville looks like they have a solid culture. They might not be St. Louis, but if they can at least match Arlington, they’ll stand a chance.
As long as Repole doesn’t do anything rash that breaches the fans’ trust.