The soon-to-be-christened Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Center boasts a space of 24 acres and a 90,000-square-foot floor with the capability of hosting a wide variety of events from youth track & field events to regional and national track meets in addition to volleyball games, concerts and more.

“What they’re building is a world-class facility,” said Louisville track and field head coach Dale Cowper. “They brought in representatives from USA Track and Field. … They’ve done it right from the very beginning, and it’s certainly equipped at a very high level. It’s going to be something that is much bigger than the city of Louisville.”

A project spearheaded by the Louisville Urban League, the building is located in the heart of West Louisville, where it promises to serve as an economic boon. Cowper gave particular credit to Louisville Urban League CEO Sadiqa Reynolds for making the Norton Healthcare SLC a reality.

“Sadiqa has done an amazing job putting this together with the Urban League,” Cowper said. “Her vision and her passion to find a way to really bring resources and business and economics into the west side of Louisville is second to none. She’s done a tremendous job getting the facility put together.”

The facility will comfortably hold 4,000 spectators for indoor track and field events, and it features a hydraulic floor that can be lowered to provide space and floor seating for non-athletic events.

Cowper said he’s most impressed with the track itself, which was built to specs that will provide even the most elite of athletes with ample opportunity to perform at a high level.

“The 200-meter track has a great radius to it,” he said, “Which, for those of us in the track community, it means you’re going to run fast. And the field events are set up with tandem pits for the horizontal and vertical jumps. Having dual pits will make for larger competitive field capabilities as well as a more progressive flow to the competition.”

Beyond track and field, the center also has the capability to serve as a community center with a 4-lane mini bowling alley, a rock-climbing wall and space dedicated for educational programming.

The Lenny Lyles Cardinal Invitational is just the first of many events that the UofL track and field program plans to hold there. Also, it will prove even more advantageous for the Cardinals during inclement weather conditions, much like those the city of Louisville is experiencing going into this week’s meet.

“We hope to train there during the winter months as much as we can,” Cowper said. “That’s certainly the objective once we have access to it. We’re going to do a lot of training there. Then, in the future, our goal is to host a couple of smaller competitions and then one larger competition there each year.”

The Cardinals may be the first to host an event at the brand new facility, but it certainly won’t be the last. In addition to collegiate events hosted by UofL, Cowper said the sky is the limit on what the Norton Healthcare SLC can bring to the city of Louisville.

“I think this can host any track and field competition,” Cowper said, “NCAA Championships, USA Championships, youth championships, everything.”

Photo by Natalie Uhl.

The community health grant for $9,450 to the Cardinal Success program will be used to purchase Chromebooks that patients can borrow to access mental telehealth services. The telehealth services have become crucial to the program since the coronavirus pandemic disrupted in-person appointments.

Cardinal Success has offered no-cost mental health services to the West End community for more than six years. It is part of UofL’s Signature Partnership Initiative, which works toward eliminating educational, health, economic and social disparities that exist in the nine urban neighborhoods that make up the region. 

“We want to assure underserved residents of the West End that we are still available to help them cope,” said Patrick Pössel, professor in the Department of Counseling and Human Development, who runs the program. “While our center at Shawnee Academy is temporarily closed, our services through the Nia Center (2900 W. Broadway) remain open with virtual appointments to help maintain social and emotional health.”

To assist clients who do not have access to the hardware needed for a telehealth appointment, Pössel applied for the JHFE grant to purchase 30 Chromebooks to lend to patients. Pössel is also searching for a donor to help purchase mobile hotspots that can help telehealth patients access the internet.

The Cardinal Success Program offers individual, group and family counseling and psychological assessment services. It serves adults and children. 

The mental health services are given by UofL students completing practicum and internships. They are enrolled in master’s and doctoral programs in CEHD, the Kent School of Social Work and the School of Nursing.

Brown, 25, played for Fern Creek High School and stayed home to play for the Cardinals, where he was a starter for the 2014 and 15 seasons. The St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams chose him as the 72nd pick in the 2015 NFL draft, and last year he transferred to the Giants. He has been the starter in 38 out of 50 of his NFL games so far.

Last week he returned to his hometown, attending a men’s basketball game where he had the opportunity to meet President Neeli Bendapudi, and talking to kids at Louisville’s West End School about bullying. 

in which he admitted that – although 6-foot-4-inches tall and 340 pounds now – he endured bullying himself when he was a kid. 

Brown has established the Jamon Brown Foundation to help those in need in Louisville. Last year, the organization funded a 13-and-under West Louisville all-star baseball team’s trip to the Babe Ruth World Series, the CJ reports. It has also helped feed families for Thanksgiving and facilitated a toy drive for Christmas. 

Brown also hosts a free youth football camp with financial support from a golf fundraiser. His goal is to add more events, with a mission of “impacting the lives of those people who are struggling with violence, poverty and youth and young-adult homelessness.” 

“We have that ability to help anyone of any color, of any age, of any gender,” he told the publication. 

“I take pride in being from Louisville, man. … So I kind of wanted to be a picture of, ‘Hey, when you make it out, take pride in the city that you’re from and be able to be a part of its growth and helping it move ahead.’”

The project, called “,” will offer playwriting workshops to residents of the West End as a way to explore critical issues, stimulate discussion and expose others to a more nuanced view of the community.

“We want people to experience the strength and beauty of the community as well as the challenges and struggles,” said Nefertiti Burton, chair of the UofL Theatre Arts Department.

The project was one of nine arts-based projects funded this year by the Jennifer Lawrence Arts Fund and has through February to match the $10,000 grant.  

Playwright and poet will guide as many as 20 community members aged 16 and older through a series of 10 weekly workshop sessions. The sessions are designed to help residents voice their experiences living in a neighborhood that is “struggling to overcome the images of violence, poverty and apathy that have defined it in local and regional media for decades.”

Participants will hone skills in writing, performance and production. Burton said the plan is to create 10-minute plays and stage them at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage and possibly throughout the state.

“We wanted people to have the opportunity to get their stories collected and shared in such a way that they are circulated beyond West Louisville into the broader community,” Burton said.

Burton will act as the artistic director and grad students from Theatre Arts may be tapped to help as well.

Burton said people have already expressed interest in participating.

“People often ask for our help as a department, and we’ve staged workshops before. But this is our first time doing an ongoing effort,” she said.

to make a donation to the Arts Match Fund to support the project.