LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Downtown Louisville could be getting a new sports entertainment district next to Slugger Field, Mayor Craig Greenberg announced Monday.
The nearly $250 million proposal is a joint project between Louisville Bats’ owner Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH) and Machete Group, an advisory firm that specializes in sports and entertainment real estate development.
Greenberg called the proposal the “biggest investment in downtown Louisville in over a decade,” adding the Louisville Sports Entertainment District is part of “ongoing revitalization efforts.”
"The future of downtown Louisville is a vibrant neighborhood, where people are living, where people are coming to work everyday, where people are coming to visit for all different reasons -- locals and out-of-towners alike -- that are coming to the safest, the cleanest, the greenest, the most vibrant, the most energetic neighborhood in the entire city," Greenberg added. "That's what we want downtown Louisville to be."
The mixed-use development is more than 500,000 square feet and would include roughly 200 housing units, retail shops, a 170-room boutique hotel, office and meeting spaces, a revitalized entrance to Slugger Field and on-site parking.
If the project becomes reality, Greenberg said it would take an underutilized surface lot on East Main Street and turn it into a connection point for downtown, Butchertown, NuLu and Waterfront Park.
“Right now, this parking lot is not creating any tax revenue for the city or the state," Greenberg said. "It's a city-owned surface parking lot, and so there's an opportunity for some TIF incentives."
The project is still in its early stages, so specific details aren't finalized, according to the mayor.
The next step in the approvals process is Thursday, when the proposal is presented to the Waterfront Development Board.
"This project will not happen without the support of the city, without the support of the state in the form of various incentives that we're just now beginning to discuss," Greenberg said. "If those incentives are not invested, then we'll be going in a different direction, one that we don't want to talk about, but I'm confident that we're going to get there."
DBH CEO Peter Freund said renderings of the development are subject to change based on community feedback, particularly with regards to the retail space.
"That's one of the things that they want to hear from people in Louisville: What are people in Louisville looking for for that commercial space? Is it all restaurant? Is it retail? Is it some unique office space," Greenberg added.
The mayor said he doesn't expect construction on the project to begin for another year.
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