Black-owned businesses in Louisville gain new space to work through West End track complex
Black businesses are getting a dedicated space to set up shop at a new plaza at the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center.
Louisville Urban League is celebrating National Black Business Month by unveiling the PNC Entrepreneur Plaza on Friday at the West End track and field complex and community center. The new space is set up with a goal to help local Black-owned businesses "market their goods and services" to visitors, according to a release.
The plaza is the result of a $1 million multi-year grant announced last August to provide the Urban League with educational and technical support for "entrepreneurship and workforce development" at the facility, which opened last February. The new spot will include indoor and outdoor spaces for pop-up marketplaces.
West End Development:A hotel in western Louisville? Well-known developer has big plans in Portland
“The League’s Sports and Learning Campus has always been about more than sports; it allows us to leveragesporting events to fuel investment in the community,” said Sadiqa Reynolds, president and CEO of the Urban League. “Black businesses will now have the opportunity to sell their products and services to visitors drawn to the facility for track meets, concerts and other local, regional and national events.”
Louisville Tourism is projecting big numbers for events held at the complex in the upcoming year. The 2023 ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships, for example, could rake in $2.2 million for the area, and the Urban League said the new plaza will "help ensure a portion of this spending stays in the local community, with Black entrepreneurs directly benefiting."
Kristen Byrd, PNC regional president for Louisville, said the center is a result of what can happen when stakeholders come together to support a common goal. In this case, she said, that goal is to empower local entrepreneurs and "strengthen the economic well-being of West Louisville.”
This isn't the League's first foray into pop-up markets, either. Julee's Mocha Coffee Shop, Chicago Jerk Tacos and Gye Nyame Books and More have all participated in pop-up markets at complex before. Now, the release said, they all have a physical retail space in the West End.
“The Urban League invited our food truck to several events and not only were we able to make a profit, butit assisted us in building our brand and establishing more business relationships in the community which hasled to greater success," said Aaron Williams, owner of Chicago Jerk Tacos. "I am sure this new facility's presence in the community will assist other entrepreneurs in the area as well.”
Reynolds said the Urban League's investment will make a difference in the community. The $53 million complex at 3029 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd., which was built on a long-vacant 24-acre property in Russell, was conceived with the intent to help others in the neighborhood, from West End residents to up-and-coming businesses.
"The PNC collaboration is another example of being intentionally inclusive ─ making certain that Black residents and Black businesses benefit from the economic magnet we have created in the West End," she said.
Reads by Rae:The old Steak N' Shake on Bardstown Road is getting a tasty new tenant
Business owners who want to get involved can register with the Center for Entrepreneurship at theLouisville Urban League or calling (502) 585-4622.
Contact reporter Rae Johnson at RNJohnson@gannett.com. Follow them on Twitter at @RaeJ_33.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Urban League opens pop-up plaza for Black entrepreneurs
