January 23, 20188 yr FC Cincinnati to school board: Let's talk about a West End stadium In the first public activity on the stadium location since the team made its pitch to MLS in December, FCC General Manager and President Jeff Berding sent a letter to the Cincinnati Public Schools board Monday night. "One of the neighborhoods we have considered is the West End," Berding wrote in the two-page letter, which The Enquirer obtained from someone involved in the stadium planning. "There are multiple locations in that neighborhood where the private investment of the stadium could generate considerable economic impact that would be positive in the West End and overall for our city," the letter says. "While we have not formally moved ahead as we await MLS feedback, we do want to keep as many options on the table as possible ..." The letter is addressed to Cincinnati School Board President Carolyn Jones. "We would welcome, at the appropriate time, a meeting to discuss a potential FCC-CPS partnership in the event we choose to pursue a West End stadium location," the letter says. "In a similar manner FCC developed a win-win partnership with the University of Cincinnati that made Nippert Stadium our home." Stadiums may generate a little investment apart from restaurants and bars in the immediate vicinity. Studies suggest that there is little economic development as far as full-time jobs and the housing the pops up around it is rarely affordable. A stadium will not save your neighborhood. It won’t save anything.
January 24, 20188 yr Author Now Cincinnati WCPO is reporting that FCC has asked the Cincinnati Metro Housing Authority to buy more than 60 vacant lots in the West End from them. Deal would require approval from the CMHA board, which is meeting on the 30th. FC Cincinnati has asked to buy land in West End from Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority | WCPO Cincinnati
January 24, 20188 yr Author Now Cincinnati WCPO is reporting that FCC has asked the Cincinnati Metro Housing Authority to buy more than 60 vacant lots in the West End from them. Deal would require approval from the CMHA board, which is meeting on the 30th. FC Cincinnati has asked to buy land in West End from Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority | WCPO Cincinnati I don't know what this smells like more: "We're not anticipating getting the MLS deal, so we're looking into other stadium options." or "The MLS didn't like the Oakley stadium location, but couldn't pass on our attendance numbers, so they told us to look further into our stadium options."
January 24, 20188 yr Author Interestingly enough, Cincinnati Fox19's Joe Danneman just tweeted that FCC GM Jeff Berding says he has no meetings planned with CMHA, and that he issued this statement: "All activity on our part is focused on keeping all potential options on the table for potential $200 million privately funded stadium site. Any plan will be result of real community engagement and will need to be a win-win for parties involved."
January 24, 20188 yr Now Cincinnati WCPO is reporting that FCC has asked the Cincinnati Metro Housing Authority to buy more than 60 vacant lots in the West End from them. Deal would require approval from the CMHA board, which is meeting on the 30th. FC Cincinnati has asked to buy land in West End from Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority | WCPO Cincinnati I don't know what this smells like more: "We're not anticipating getting the MLS deal, so we're looking into other stadium options." or "The MLS didn't like the Oakley stadium location, but couldn't pass on our attendance numbers, so they told us to look further into our stadium options." Interestingly enough, Cincinnati Fox19's Joe Danneman just tweeted that FCC GM Jeff Berding says he has no meetings planned with CMHA, and that he issued this statement: "All activity on our part is focused on keeping all potential options on the table for potential $200 million privately funded stadium site. Any plan will be result of real community engagement and will need to be a win-win for parties involved." FARCE!
January 31, 20188 yr Author So now FC Cincinnati is saying that they are trying to purchase the parcels in the West End for a new housing development. Jeff Berding is saying that a new stadium is going to bring "new density". The idea of sports stadiums boosting economic development has been dis-proven over and over and over again. Berding already duped the folks of Cincinnati with that bit of fiction in order to get Paul Brown Stadium and Great American Ballpark built. Let's see if he can pull it off again. Berding's full statement: "For the stadium to be a great addition to the neighborhood, this enormous sports facility investment should also bring with it increased density with more housing for new residents, more offices and workers, more retail and entertainment, and of course, more community facilities. FC Cincinnati’s interest in these parcels is for residential development that brings more homes to the neighborhood. FCC has no interest in building a stadium on these parcels. The team’s interest is to take parcels that have been vacant since the initial housing development and put energy behind getting new homes built here. That is it." FC Cincinnati gets option to buy West End land – for housing, not a stadium
January 31, 20188 yr Author Also, why on earth would FCC want to invest their own money in a housing development in the West End if they are allegedly planning on building their stadium in Oakley? Why in the world is FCC spending money getting into the housing market *at all*? At this point, I'm really starting to think this is the MLS telling the folks at FCC to jump, and FCC asking "How high?".
January 31, 20188 yr Also, why on earth would FCC want to invest their own money in a housing development in the West End if they are allegedly planning on building their stadium in Oakley? Why in the world is FCC spending money getting into the housing market *at all*? At this point, I'm really starting to think this is the MLS telling the folks at FCC to jump, and FCC asking "How high?". I said that from day one, glad you are coming around, wish the rest in this town would follow. Be happy with your minor league team, the other minor league team is the last group to win a championship, be focused on that.
January 31, 20188 yr It makes me laugh that people who don't live in Cincinnati are so ate up with the financial aspects of this....Why do you care how they finance this? It isn't impacting you.
January 31, 20188 yr Author I said that from day one, glad you are coming around, wish the rest in this town would follow. Be happy with your minor league team, the other minor league team is the last group to win a championship, be focused on that. I've fully acknowledged that this was all being done at the MLS's bidding from day one. The MLS has been perfectly open about requiring USL teams to be on a track toward having their own dedicated stadium if they have any hope of being awarded MLS membership. FCC wouldn't be going for a stadium if it weren't for the MLS.
January 31, 20188 yr I've fully acknowledged that this was all being done at the MLS's bidding from day one. The MLS has been perfectly open about requiring USL teams to be on a track toward having their own dedicated stadium if they have any hope of being awarded MLS membership. FCC wouldn't be going for a stadium if it weren't for the MLS. Except MLS has 3 newer teams that share stadiums with NFL teams, so the MLS is a farce and talks out both sides of their mouth. FCC is better to not be involved with them than to be, but look who is running the team, enough said.
January 31, 20188 yr Also, why on earth would FCC want to invest their own money in a housing development in the West End if they are allegedly planning on building their stadium in Oakley? Why in the world is FCC spending money getting into the housing market *at all*? At this point, I'm really starting to think this is the MLS telling the folks at FCC to jump, and FCC asking "How high?". I assume they’re going to ask for tax incentives on both projects tied together. Easier to give some cover to politicians when you’re asking for infrastructure costs and some tax incentives to be covered when it’s for a “transformative residential and commercial project” than just a stadium.
January 31, 20188 yr Also, why on earth would FCC want to invest their own money in a housing development in the West End if they are allegedly planning on building their stadium in Oakley? Why in the world is FCC spending money getting into the housing market *at all*? At this point, I'm really starting to think this is the MLS telling the folks at FCC to jump, and FCC asking "How high?". Where is FCC coming up with all of this funding? I'm concerned this housing acquisition could a bit of a tricky deal? Reminds me when councilman Jim Tarbell bought up half of the homes on the East side of the city in hopes the Reds would move there. When that failed, in came the casino?
January 31, 20188 yr Is Berding keeping all these options going as a bargaining chip with property owners so he gets the best deal possible?
January 31, 20188 yr Is Berding keeping all these options going as a bargaining chip with property owners so he gets the best deal possible? I would think that’s definitely what’s happening. If the project ends up going forward in the West End, then he can tie the housing project to the stadium finding when it comes time to looking for incentives and funding.
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