On Sunday, May 21, Coopers gathered at Molly Malone’s Highlands for the first general membership meeting of the year. It was a good turnout with several die-hards arriving just back from Pittsburgh where they watched our boys take down the Riverhounds for three points on the road. Thank gosh for that as it would have been a somber affair otherwise!
My initial note was that Molly’s is a great brunch spot on Sunday. Really appreciate its continued support of the Purple Family and soccer in The City. The $5 Guinness(es) with Mexican breakfast plate was the perfect compliment for an afternoon of soccer talk.
Jefe (President Tom Farmer) rose to call the meeting to order, highlighting great progress along all six primary fronts of the Coopers’ mission. Here is the Annual Plan in its full glory. Any independent observer would agree Jefe is running a tight ship and the missions are humming, with the financial house in order.
View Annual Plan in Google Docs
Despite a couple lulls in the action on the pitch, (much prefer to have games in hand toward the end), we have some big home games upcoming, and several important events including a match against the “Front Office” at Resurfaced on June 15th, a 3v3 tournament June 17 before a home game, and a match/block party at Resurfaced with Cincinnati supporters July 15. And never fret; the Tifos are coming! The Tifos! are coming!
Other announcements included that two board seat elections are coming up. If you have the time, talent, and treasure to serve then nominate yourself! Send your self-nomination submission to thecooperslouisville@gmail.com and you’ll be contacted by a member of the board.
With the business handled, the attention then turned to everyone’s favorite topic: Stadium.
Ownership leaders John Neace, Mike Mountjoy, Tim Mulloy, and Tom Mueller provided updates and fielded questions about stadium progress.
[Presidential Edit: Big shout to Tim Mulloy who picked up our bar tab on his own dime. Was not expected but was greatly appreciated. It’s clear we’ve got an owners’ group that appreciates what we bring to this club and to match day in particular.]
The takeaway is we have to win the hearts and minds of both the Metro Council and our citizenry to support a community-minded, multi-use development of which the soccer team is the heart (but only a part!). When you see the 40 acres and the potential to make this area an economic and cultural powerhouse in our City, you can’t help but support this project. It’s an otherwise dormant area with so much darn potential!
And make sure everyone knows, the stadium is private money. This is not about public money for a soccer team as much as it is an opportunity to take Butchertown and its environs – and Louisville – to the next level.
The City’s role is to purchase and reclaim the land, and then sell it to the developers of the various components (you would think at a profit). The State’s role is to designate a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district to encourage development. This is an executive decision Governor Bevin needs to sign; you’d think that’s a no-brainer.
We can do this Louisville! The big push is coming in July/August. Stay tuned and get ready to knock on doors, house by house. When the Call To Arms comes, be ready.
Of course, and most important, we need week-in and week-out passion at Slugger and commitment to our six missions. Read them, breathe them, live them!
And C’mon City!!!
