MISL Louisville set for 2009 start

(Published in the Evening News & Tribune, February 19, 2008)

Professional soccer looks certain to return to the Louisville metro area in 2009 thanks mostly to a Jeffersonville architect.

Speaking this week, Wayne Estopinal said the team should be ready to play in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the fall of next year.

Estopinal, who owns the rights to the MISL franchise in Louisville, visited Detroit at the weekend where he saw the city’s expansion, Ignition, take on and beat reigning champions Philadelphia Kixx.

There, Estopinal and his ownership team held a positive two hour meeting with MISL commissioner Steve Ryan and Detroit Ignition’s John Hantz.

“We were very pleased with what we saw in Detroit,” he said. “Our ownership will be submitting a final proposal within the next 45 days.

"I feel very comfortable we will be playing at Freedom Hall first in 2009, and then at the new arena in 2010."

The expansion, not yet named but with a working title of MISL Louisville, is expected to join nine existing franchises from the likes of Chicago, Orlando and New Jersey. There is also the possibility of two other new expansions being added in 2009, making it a 12 team league.

The season currently runs from October to April, but moves are being made within the MISL to push the season back towards December, with a later finish.

Estopinal and part owner, attorney/soccer referee Louis Waterman, had hoped to have the team ready to play this fall, but numerous delays combined with getting everything in place made 2009 a much more realistic prospect for a project that will cost an estimated $400,000-$600,000 a year to run.

A general manager should be in place by this summer, while image consultants will be hired soon to help come up with a team name, logos and a mascot. Players will be acquired via open try-outs and the MISL expansion and college drafts.

Estopinal will be known to many involved in the game locally, as he is majority owner of Mockingbird SC. The new expansion will use facilities at the club, which will include a new $150,000 Sportexe synthetic playing surface -- the official surface of the MISL – while the Melwood avenue facility is also in the process of making further renovations, including dressing room improvements and the installation of a new air conditioning system.

The indoor game is six a side, with four 15-minute quarters and a different scoring system, which involves the awarding of two or three points per goal. Estopinal believes the higher scoring games will appeal to a more general audience, attracting many new fans to a game which already has TV exposure via Fox Soccer Channel on Friday nights.

"It's completely opposite to the outdoor game," Estopinal said. "It will change the public’s perception of what soccer is, and maybe in the long run it will help local clubs by having a professional outfit in Louisville, while also helping University of Louisville to keep talented kids locally and help with recruiting."

The area's last professional indoor team - Louisville Thunder - lasted three years, from 1984 to 1987, winning the American Indoor Soccer Association's championship in its final year.