Dear Louisville City,
Over the past several weeks, I have had many ideas for the club to come across my mind. Lou City has a passionate fan base with many of these fans eager to consume as much Lou City soccer as possible. These ideas span a variety of topics. They would cater to the regular supporter and could help to capture the interest of new fans. Some may be money-makers while others are more focused on goodwill. Some may be works in progress or plans derailed by COVID. I wanted to share these ideas for your consideration. I’m sure there is a full roadmap of things to do but perhaps a couple of these could be worked in. Without further ado, here are the ideas I would like to share.
Charity Match
Charitable efforts are more than just PR. Raising money and volunteering makes a direct impact on our city. The club should be striving to be a good community partner and I feel this has been the case. To raise money, Lou City should hold a charity match. A glorified friendly between someone like UofL could generate a good chunk of change in ticket revenue not to mention any extra fundraising done surrounding the event. You give the fans a match, Hack and the boys get an opportunity to further perfect their craft, and the selected charity/cause not only gets funding but visibility as well. Everyone wins. It doesn’t even need to be against another squad. It could even be a competitive inter-squad scrimmage. There are many directions this idea could be taken.
Charity Kits/Scarfs
Keeping with the charity theme; the creation of a unique kit or scarf would also catch the interest of the fan base. For the club, this would be an opportunity to test out more unusual designs to gauge the supporter's reactions. There are many out there who are regular purchasers of kits and scarves. Knowing the money is going towards a good cause only makes the decision to buy that much easier. This is very much in the same vein as the pride kits we have seen over the past few years. The supporting cause could be changed year over year depending on the needs of the community. Another route that could be taken with this is reproducing retro kits. City is still a little too new to have retro anything right now but a thought for later.
5k/10k Race
Physical fitness and sports go hand in hand. The club should want to support fans both young and old to stay active and healthy. Hosting a race would attract avid runners (who may not be a fan before the race) and could encourage fans to pick up running as a form of exercise. Now that the club has its own home, it would serve as the perfect start and endpoint for a race through downtown. The whole ground could be turned into a mini race festival (after we get past COVID). Between race entry fees and getting sponsors to sign on board for the event, it could be quite lucrative. I can only imagine how cool the finisher medals would be. If FC Cincinnati can host a race then so can we!
Names and Numbers on Kits
To be clear, I know I’m not the first person to call this one out. It’s still a bit surprising to me that names and numbers are not offered with kit purchases at the team store. The club has the equipment to do this. Tack on a nominal fee of $5-$15 and I’d venture a guess that at least a third of kit purchases (likely more) would be interested. Its easy money. As a fan, it would be cool for us to be able to break out a kit of a club legend years down the road.
Player Cards
I pitched this idea to a member of the club (I forget who) at the tequila bottle signing last year. I would love to see yearly player baseball cards. They could showcase some great shots of the player along with a bio and some statistics from their career. Player cards would be great to have for collecting autographs and would make great pieces of memorabilia. This could be produced in-house or in partnership with a company like Topps or Upper Deck. I'd imagine the profit margins wouldn’t be too shabby. They could even be used as a promotional giveaway.
Wine Partnership
I have been a big fan of the collaboration with Falls City on the seasonal beer cans (please keep doing this). While in-season, it’s my go-to beer choice. I also appreciated the opportunity to get the cool Lou City branded Lunazul tequila bottle. A wine bottle would be another awesome branding opportunity to get the club in front of a different audience. Not to keep bringing up our rivals, but FCC got one and I’m jealous. A partnership with a local winery, say Old 502, could produce something unique (I’d prefer the wine to be a red zin :) ). A bourbon partnership would be an option that makes more sense and I would not be mad about that one either.
Ring of Honor
In the future, I hope there is a strong effort to preserve the club's rich history. I can go on and on about my thoughts on this (and will at a later date), but, one big initiative for this would be to create some sort of Ring of Honor. Let’s commemorate and recognize the players and staff members that have played unforgettable roles in the success of the club. I want to one day take my child to Lynn Family Stadium and point out the names of the greats who helped win the first title in 2017. Not the most immediately pressing item on the list but one I hope is kept in mind.
I’ve had a handful of other ideas but those above were the best of the bunch. These could help the club generate revenue and give the supporters more Louisville City content/products in their life. To my fellow supporters reading this, I encourage you to share your ideas as well. We have a fantastic team in our city who I imagine would at very least consider your thought. I’d love to hear what you’re thinking. Tweet it at me! @PurpleSDF
Vamos Morados!
- Benton