A Cincinnati businessman just bought the Dayton Dynamo (the old Cincinnati Saints) and is planning on making them a fully professional team. Does this have any connection FCC?  Would the Dynamo be a partner in any way with FCC?  Or if FCC stays in the USL, and the Dynamo gets into the USL, could a good rivalry develop?

 

http://wvxu.org/post/dayton-dynamo-making-jump-professional-soccer-league/

Hell, I didn't even know the Dayton Dynamo were still around.  Apparently, according to "The Googles," the one I'm thinking of ended in 1995 and they restarted again a couple of years ago and play at my old high school's football stadium.

 

Huh.

They will likely never directly compete with FCC (unless it's in the US Open Cup by chance). And the new ownership is not related to FCC ownership at all to my knowledge. They brought on a new majority owner to move on to a professional league.

 

The Dynamo are taking a one year sabbatical to prepare for a professional team, so they will not play in 2018. They were playing in the NPSL (National Premier Soccer League) last year, which is a semi-pro league. A lot of players are college students who cannot get paid due to NCAA regulations, and many others are just older players who never made it professionally, but can still compete.

 

The Dynamo will be moving into either NISA (National Independent Soccer Association) or USL D3. The USL is starting a parallel league in the third division of the US Soccer pyramid since the main USL league was moved up to division 2 starting in this year. USL D3 and NISA will have much lower financial, stadium, etc. requirements than NASL or USL. But both of these leagues are still technically all professional, meaning the players get paid.

Hell, I didn't even know the Dayton Dynamo were still around.  Apparently, according to "The Googles," the one I'm thinking of ended in 1995 and they restarted again a couple of years ago and play at my old high school's football stadium.

 

Huh.

 

Go go, Dyanamo! Ready for some history?

 

The original Dayton Dynamo played in the AISA and then the National Professional Soccer League. This NPSL was an indoor league and the team played at Hara Arena, Nutter Center, and the Convention Center from 1988 to 1995. After the 95 season they moved to the Cincinnati Gardens and re-branded as the Cincinnati Silverbacks. The Silverbacks and Cyclones (IHL hockey) were both owned by Doug Kirchoffer, who purchased the Riverfront Coliseum, renovated it, and named it "The Crown." Many speculated that this was all done in an effort to boost the arena's value so that when the Reds needed to purchase the building and demolish it to make room for a new ballpark, The Crown would be worth more. When the Silverbacks/Cyclones moved, the Gardens got a new hockey team (The Mighty Ducks of the AHL) and they put out posters saying "Hit the road Cyclones, and take the Silverbacks with you!"

 

The Reds ended up building their new park in "the wedge" between The Crown and Cinergy Field. Kirchoffer eventually sold his interest in the arena and the teams. The Crown became The Firstar Center and now is US Bank Arena. The Silverbacks folded relatively quickly, the Cyclones later on(but, since returend). In the wake of the Silverbacks' death, Cincinnati has had a colorful variety of indoor and outdoor teams among the lower divisions of American soccer.

 

The Cincinnati Saints of the 4th division NPSL (a new NPSL not affiliated with the preceding indoor league) played for awhile at various spots around town. They also fielded a women's team and both sides played indoor seasons too at various points. When FC Cincinnati was announced, The Saints were still active. In an early promo video for FCC, the intro started by flashing the logos of teams that had come and gone. The Saints' logo was in that montage of defunct brands, but they still existed. Nevertheless, The Saints relocated their men's NPSL side to Dayton and adopted the old brand name of "The Dayton Dynamo."

 

As ryanlammi[/member] pointed out, they're taking a year off to develop a fully professional side presumably at the division III level in either the new USL D3 or the new NISA. It was recently rumored that The Dynamo could've been one of the NPSL teams brought up to the NASL (and backed financially by other D2 NASL teams) to help keep that league afloat. The NASL's future isn't looking great, though.

 

What will be interesting is if a professional side with more cash can attract more of an audience (although the Dyanamo do have a loyal following) and if FCC reaches MLS, if they will be affiliated in any way. Also, I've seen more and more FCC marketing materials along the I-75 corridor and around Dayton. With no soccer in Dayton for this coming season, I think FCC will aggressively market there.

 

Whether they go NISA or USLD3, I love the idea of Dayton having a fully professional side. Soccer teams tend to be more rooted in the community even if they're lower division. Many D3 and D4 sides have strong followings. I could see The Dynamo becoming a source of pride for Dayton in the way FCC has for Cincinnati. A proper, small stadium tied in to a lot of great things happening Downtown could be great.

 

Also to note: Dayton has another 4th division team. The Dayton Dutch Lions play in the USL Premier Development League, a competitor to the NPSL. There are also the Cincinnati Dutch Lions of the PDL who play at NKU.

 

 

Speaking of USL expansion, there's news that a developer in Chicago wants to buy a USL expansion spot and build a Skidmore, Owings & Merrill-designed stadium with a retractable roof and seating for 20,000:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/ori/ct-biz-lincoln-yards-soccer-stadium-ryan-ori-20171121-story.html

 

If that comes to pass, please remind me to pick my jaw up from the floor.

Speaking of USL expansion, there's news that a developer in Chicago wants to buy a USL expansion spot and build a Skidmore, Owings & Merrill-designed stadium with a retractable roof and seating for 20,000:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/ori/ct-biz-lincoln-yards-soccer-stadium-ryan-ori-20171121-story.html

 

If that comes to pass, please remind me to pick my jaw up from the floor.

 

I love this. I wish USL wasn't in the hierarchy below MLS. To me it's far more interesting being outside of league rules which can be constricting. FCC wouldn't have to be seeking MLS salvation if USL was a viable competitor league. Maybe it will be in the future?

 

If that comes to pass, please remind me to pick my jaw up from the floor.

 

That's been my thought too. That situation is... odd. The USL trend recently has been that when they confirm an expansion team for the next season (or evern for another year out) they do a big announcement, a video, social media press, etc. They really, really promote it. In one Chicago press release they say a franchise has been purchased, but it hasn't been given anywhere near the fanfare you'd think scoring a team in the heart of a major market would get.

 

My speculation is that this is one of two things:

 

1) Just the developer posturing to lure Amazone (Build HQ2 and we'll build this as well!).

2) A backdoor attempt for the Chicago Fire to flee the suburb of Bridgeview and land downtown.

 

Even if USL starts backing away from direct MLS affiliation at the D2 level, it's in their best interest to maintain a good relationship with the top league. I doubt they'd really try to cut MLS out of a top market.

Hell, I didn't even know the Dayton Dynamo were still around.  Apparently, according to "The Googles," the one I'm thinking of ended in 1995 and they restarted again a couple of years ago and play at my old high school's football stadium.

 

Huh.

 

Go go, Dyanamo! Ready for some history?

 

The original Dayton Dynamo played in the AISA and then the National Professional Soccer League. This NPSL was an indoor league and the team played at Hara Arena, Nutter Center, and the Convention Center from 1988 to 1995. After the 95 season they moved to the Cincinnati Gardens and re-branded as the Cincinnati Silverbacks. The Silverbacks and Cyclones (IHL hockey) were both owned by Doug Kirchoffer, who purchased the Riverfront Coliseum, renovated it, and named it "The Crown." Many speculated that this was all done in an effort to boost the arena's value so that when the Reds needed to purchase the building and demolish it to make room for a new ballpark, The Crown would be worth more. When the Silverbacks/Cyclones moved, the Gardens got a new hockey team (The Mighty Ducks of the AHL) and they put out posters saying "Hit the road Cyclones, and take the Silverbacks with you!"

 

The Reds ended up building their new park in "the wedge" between The Crown and Cinergy Field. Kirchoffer eventually sold his interest in the arena and the teams. The Crown became The Firstar Center and now is US Bank Arena. The Silverbacks folded relatively quickly, the Cyclones later on(but, since returend). In the wake of the Silverbacks' death, Cincinnati has had a colorful variety of indoor and outdoor teams among the lower divisions of American soccer.

 

The Cincinnati Saints of the 4th division NPSL (a new NPSL not affiliated with the preceding indoor league) played for awhile at various spots around town. They also fielded a women's team and both sides played indoor seasons too at various points. When FC Cincinnati was announced, The Saints were still active. In an early promo video for FCC, the intro started by flashing the logos of teams that had come and gone. The Saints' logo was in that montage of defunct brands, but they still existed. Nevertheless, The Saints relocated their men's NPSL side to Dayton and adopted the old brand name of "The Dayton Dynamo."

 

As ryanlammi[/member] pointed out, they're taking a year off to develop a fully professional side presumably at the division III level in either the new USL D3 or the new NISA. It was recently rumored that The Dynamo could've been one of the NPSL teams brought up to the NASL (and backed financially by other D2 NASL teams) to help keep that league afloat. The NASL's future isn't looking great, though.

 

What will be interesting is if a professional side with more cash can attract more of an audience (although the Dyanamo do have a loyal following) and if FCC reaches MLS, if they will be affiliated in any way. Also, I've seen more and more FCC marketing materials along the I-75 corridor and around Dayton. With no soccer in Dayton for this coming season, I think FCC will aggressively market there.

 

Whether they go NISA or USLD3, I love the idea of Dayton having a fully professional side. Soccer teams tend to be more rooted in the community even if they're lower division. Many D3 and D4 sides have strong followings. I could see The Dynamo becoming a source of pride for Dayton in the way FCC has for Cincinnati. A proper, small stadium tied in to a lot of great things happening Downtown could be great.

 

Also to note: Dayton has another 4th division team. The Dayton Dutch Lions play in the USL Premier Development League, a competitor to the NPSL. There are also the Cincinnati Dutch Lions of the PDL who play at NKU.

 

You, sir, are a Soccer God!

Very good history! Went to saints games the last two years they were here.  Hoped maybe this local guy buying them might mean they'd move back to cincinnati.

Very good history! Went to saints games the last two years they were here.  Hoped maybe this local guy buying them might mean they'd move back to cincinnati.

 

Not sure if we'd see that with FCC around. The video montage incident certainly didn't sit well with the core group of loyal Saints fans. The owner at the time was also very outspoken about how the new club didn't reach out or even attempt to work with him. He's an interesting character, though, has me blocked on Twitter. Also, a lot of the original FCC FO responsible for some of the flat marketing and questionable communications was replaced rather quickly. With this new owner, not sure if those wounds have healed. Would be interesting to see if FCC goes to MLS, if the Dayton club becomes a USL affiliate.

Austin Berry just announced his retirement as a player... and will be joining FC Cincinnati on the technical staff.

Did they hit 15k already? I thought that was the goal by the time the season started.

I think you're right. According to this article, they're currently around 13k in season tickets sold (up from 11,739 last year), but they haven't yet opened sales up to the public... so that's just from existing season ticket holders and people who put down deposits last season. Starting tomorrow (Dec 6), they'll open it up to new season ticket buyers. Their goal is to sell 15k season tickets before the season starts.

Does anybody know anything about the potential/proposed name change to "Fussball Club Cincinnati"? Without any more details... my first reaction is: meh. Seems kitschy, as if they're trying too hard to be German, and even though our city has a history with immigrants from Germany, FC Cincinnati has no authentic claim to any German connection. Similarly, I cringe a bit every time I see people (usually in the media) write out "Futbol Club Cincinnati" since our club also has no authentic claim to any Spanish-speaking heritage.

 

As it is now, in marketing materials, the club basically never spells out what "FC" stands for, and I'd like it to stay that way because it it seems like a no-good-option scenario: football, futbol, and fussball all have their own problems. So, keeping it abbreviated as "FC" seems like the best option.

 

 

They aren't changing the name. They filed a trademark for Fussbal and Fußball for merchandise basically. I think they will always be "FC Cincinnati", but legally Futbol Club Cincinnati. I think Futbol is the worst of the three, though.

Agreed. I didn’t even realize they were using Futbol, which is clearly the lamest of the options. They should stick with FC, and maybe Football if they really must spell it out. Fußball Club Zinzinnati might be a fun alternate name to tie in during Oktoberfest merchandise or something like that.

Here’s what FC Cincinnati’s stadium could look like in the West End

 

As FC Cincinnati awaits a decision on its bid to become one of Major League Soccer’s two expansion clubs to begin play in 2020, a rendering has surfaced of one of its alternative stadium sites.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/12/11/here-s-what-fc-cincinnati-s-stadium-could-look.html

 

That skyline angle is all messed up!

^Nice, but concerning rendering... that's no street interaction + there's a ton of light pollution on the West End with no barrier, which IMO would kill the vibe of the neighborhood.

It'd be nice to see a sunken stadium.

 

Here's a new article from CityLab on the expansion process:

 

https://www.citylab.com/design/2017/12/are-soccer-arenas-the-new-football-stadiums/547598/?utm_source=SFFB

 

It nicely ties in the Crew drama too.

I don't get why the Business Courier ran this "story". The rendering is clearly not accurate. The Kroger building appears to be in there twice. The Great American tower is angled the wrong way. This was, I believe, an incredibly rushed job that has been around for most of 2017.

 

Also, the lights around the stadium would not be on the whole time, likely only during events. And if the buildings are so inaccurate, I can't imagine this is an accurate representation of lighting on the neighborhood.

I don't get why the Business Courier ran this "story". The rendering is clearly not accurate. The Kroger building appears to be in there twice. The Great American tower is angled the wrong way. This was, I believe, an incredibly rushed job that has been around for most of 2017.

 

Also, the lights around the stadium would not be on the whole time, likely only during events. And if the buildings are so inaccurate, I can't imagine this is an accurate representation of lighting on the neighborhood.

 

I'm so perplexed by how that kind of stuff happens... I mean, if you're going to do a rush job, why not just take an existing aerial view and plop in your model. Whatever resulted in this Frankenstein version of downtown must have taken much more work than just merely using an existing photo.

here's a really good interview of Justin Hoyte, the current right back for FC Cincinnati

 

http://picklesmagazine.co.uk/2017/12/12/justin-hoyte-brits-abroad/

here's a really good interview of Justin Hoyte, the current right back for FC Cincinnati

 

http://picklesmagazine.co.uk/2017/12/12/justin-hoyte-brits-abroad/

 

Neat article. Always fun to hear an outsider's view on the city and the club:

-I don't know whether to laugh or cry that the author views Yard House as the "archetypical American restaurant"

-What is "Nippert Park"?

Nashville picked. Probably not good news for Cincinnati. But Washington Post MLS writer Steven Goff thinks it will be Cincy and Nashville. But who knows.

Nashville picked. Probably not good news for Cincinnati. But Washington Post MLS writer Steven Goff thinks it will be Cincy and Nashville. But who knows.

 

I was reading about the MLS expansion and it seemed that Sacramento is a favorite, mainly due to its current team history and prior attempts to get an MLS team.  So I figured Sacramento is getting a team; then I see Nashville named today. 

 

Detroit has a huge metro area and its MLS team involves some big $$/NBA owners (Pistons & Cavs).  Detroit's Ford Field is the issue: can and will it attract Atlanta level crowds?  Seattle plays in an NFL stadium as well.  If MLS believes it can, then Detroit should get it, leaving Sacramento and Cinci out.  No stadium drama for Detroit.

 

Cinci can still pull this off though; there is still one announcement to go.

Yep. I don’t have much hope. I think we are in the outside looking in. MLS has no credibility at this point re: franchise awarding.

Announcement appears delayed to until after New Years. Rumors abound but appears MLS wants FCC to have a plan in place for the West End or Newport or possible come up with the funding gap for Oakley. Sacramento's problem seems to be lack of investors. So it's wait and see but national soccer reporters seem to think FCC right now has the edge on Sacramento if FCC can make MLS happy regarding a stadium.

Announcement appears delayed to until after New Years. Rumors abound but appears MLS wants FCC to have a plan in place for the West End or Newport or possible come up with the funding gap for Oakley. Sacramento's problem seems to be lack of investors. So it's wait and see but national soccer reporters seem to think FCC right now has the edge on Sacramento if FCC can make MLS happy regarding a stadium.

 

Other posters here stated that MLS didn't care where the stadium actually ended-up; I thought that sounded fishy.  Didn't read anything about Sacramento's bid being in jeopardy due to lack of investors.  How did either cities' bid make it to the final selection with these major outstanding issues?

 

So, Detroit is out?  Deep pocket investors, Ford Field, and a huge metro population.

 

I thought maybe MLS announced Nashville (Tues-Weds) and would do the same for the 2nd city (Thurs-Friday).

 

How much more time is MLS going to give Cinci to get its stadium deal done? 

 

 

Announcement appears delayed to until after New Years. Rumors abound but appears MLS wants FCC to have a plan in place for the West End or Newport or possible come up with the funding gap for Oakley. Sacramento's problem seems to be lack of investors. So it's wait and see but national soccer reporters seem to think FCC right now has the edge on Sacramento if FCC can make MLS happy regarding a stadium.

 

Well to my recollection we still don’t know what physical items the “funding gap” in Oakley would be needed for, so it’s all pretty opaque to the outside observer.

Here is one angle I have not really seen raised and I don't know if it is really an issue at all, but MLS is primarily a Spring/Summer sport with a little in the fall.  Both Sacramento and Nashville do not have Major League Baseball teams while Cincy and Detroit do.  Not saying this is a big issue but wonder if it is something that is discussed?

 

In Nashville and Sacramento the NHL and NBA regular seasons end around the beginning of April so there is not much competition for the sports entertainment market in the Spring/Summer months. Whereas Cincy and Detroit have Spring/Summer/Fall professional sports in the market. Don't know if this is bad for Cincy or a non-issue.

I'm getting most of my information from soccer twitter and soccer reddit. 

 

Detroit has long considered to be out. But I guess nobody really knows. MLS favors small soccer stadiums for new teams, so Detroit really only made the finalists because of their money and it's a large market that MLS would like to have.

 

Sacramento has long had issues with ownership. The owner of HP left and then came back, but even with her they're still the least wealthy of the 4 bids. MLS doesn't want to bring an ownership that isn't willing (or can't) to spend money long term to field a good product. There's also rumors that MLS head Don Garber really doesn't like the Sacramento owners and a personal level.

 

The funding gap is like $10 million for infrastructure at the Oakley site. If MLS is going to pick Cincinnati they seem to be waiting to make sure the stadium plan in 100% done.

 

The finalist made it this far because of the original dozen or so teams that applied in January these were the 4 best bids. Other expansion teams didn't check all the boxes. St Louis and San Diego failed to get money for a stadium, for example.

 

EDIT: This being said only a handful of people really have any idea what's going on, I'm just stating the most common rumors I'm seeing.

The finalist made it this far because of the original dozen or so teams that applied in January these were the 4 best bids. Other expansion teams didn't check all the boxes. St Louis and San Diego failed to get money for a stadium, for example.

 

Thanks for the update. Just wanted to say that San Diego's owners have the money, but the city council delayed the ballot initiative that would have allowed construction to begin. If Cincy gets to MLS you can probably thank SD's politicians because the stadium initiative had public support; it would have passed.

I have heard the same about SAC's bid. The issue with the ownership is not Meg Whitman's money, but they want her deep pockets as the main owner instead of a secondary owner.

The funding gap is like $10 million for infrastructure at the Oakley site. If MLS is going to pick Cincinnati they seem to be waiting to make sure the stadium plan in 100% done.

 

The city and county have already agreed to build the roads, sewers, other utilities, and a parking garage. It would be nice if FCC's owners would tell us specifically what other "infrastructure" they still want us to build. Amazing that these details are still only being discussed in smoke-filled rooms and not out in public.

FCC listed what they wanted and said they think would cost $70 million and I think the city/county funding only adds up to $54 Million or something along those numbers. There's been discussions for months on this, especially with the county, its all on the BOCC archived minutes as far back as August. There was also a large public meeting in Norwood months ago on the issue. All the major news media covered it. The public is rarely in the know on every detail of major development news. It hasn't been handled perfectly but the idea that it's all been hidden is untrue.

Okay, so what is the the $10 million "funding gap" intended to be spent on? What do they need that hasn't already been announced (new roads, sewers, utilities, and a parking garage)?

the announced ask was $70M iirc. The county/city came up with about $54M. It's not an additional $10M they are adding on. This is from the original ask. I don't think I've seen an itemized list, though.

It was my first sentence. FCC seems to think those roads/sewers/utilities/parking/etc will cost more than the money the city/county have put up. I think the Biz Journal and WVXU both published the list. Removing bump outs and adding a lane on Vandecar, making the road in front of Meijer and Sams public, widening Madison Rd between Ridge and Kennedy and building a new circle road around the stadium. There might have been others.

Details are coming out, essentially confirming the rumors that Scaramento's problem is the need for more wealthy owners:

https://twitter.com/BrianStraus/status/943904588956164096

 

This article says that FCC is just working through questions regarding the potential stadium sites. Article says we should expect a statement from FCC later today (Thursday):

https://www.si.com/soccer/2017/12/21/mls-expansion-timeline-don-garber-cincinnati-detroit-sacramento

FCC in the drivers seat, just need to quickly get their act together to check the boxes. They should have gone to Newport from the start and the deal would be done by now.

Still no news on the MLS front, but that doesn't stop FC Cincinnati from stacking their team for 2018.

 

They signed Argentinian midfielder Emmanuel Ledesma today. He most recently played for the New York Cosmos of the NASL where he scored 10 goals and 6 assists in 19 games (17 starts).

 

Yesterday they signed Guyana National Team striker Emery Welshman.

 

Before the new year they also signed Jamaican National Team fullback/winger Lance Laing and American forward Tommy Heinemann.

 

Rumors have been circulating that FCC is going to sign American midfielder Nazmi Albadawi. Rumors also say that his contract may be contingent on FC Cincinnati jumping to MLS in the coming years, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet.

 

Here's what the roster looks like right now:

 

Why does the USL exempt Canada from the international cap? For that matter, why do they have the international cap at all? What motivates the fear about rosters being "too" international?

Domestic leagues are meant to build National Team rosters. Since there are teams in Canada for both the usl and MLS it would really throw a wrench in things if American teams had to count Canadian players as international and if Canadian teams would have to count American players as international.

Why does the USL exempt Canada from the international cap?

 

NAFTA :)

Rumors are swirling that FCC will be invited this week with an event at Washington Park. If true, good chance it leaks today or tomorrow.

Rumors are swirling that FCC will be invited this week with an event at Washington Park. If true, good chance it leaks today or tomorrow.

 

Washington Park Event = West End Stadium, I would tend to think. 

As would the most recent OTR purchases in the Hamilton County Sales File, three buildings on Central Parkway for $1.1m. Not only does the sale price seem high considering the buildings, but the purchasing LLC is registered to a KMK lawyer who represents, among other firms, Cintas. Could be nothing, but the listing pointed out a few weeks ago in the West End thread also just sold, 1509 Providence Street for $25k.

Well clearly the rumors were wrong. At this point it's anyone's guess when it will happen. Rather annoying. There's a good chance it won't be until February. Lots of MLS events coming up. MLS Combine is 1/11-1/17, MLS Super Draft is 1/19 and US Soccer Coaches Convention is 1/17-1/21.

 

Jeff Berding was on the Cincy Soccer Talk Podcast last night (http://cincinnatisoccertalk.com/). He didn't really say too much of interest. Just the MLS process is ongoing, there's nothing wrong with Cincy's bid and he remains "bullish" on invite chances.  Of interest to this site....he also said Oakley is the preferred site but until "community engagement" and traffic studies are completed West End is not off the table.

^ I bet nothing will happen until February until they get clarity with the Miami situation.

I don't think Miami will become any clearer by February. This saga has been going on for years and never gets any closer to closure.

But that is the clarity they need to make a decision

Well clearly the rumors were wrong. At this point it's anyone's guess when it will happen. Rather annoying. There's a good chance it won't be until February. Lots of MLS events coming up. MLS Combine is 1/11-1/17, MLS Super Draft is 1/19 and US Soccer Coaches Convention is 1/17-1/21.

 

Jeff Berding was on the Cincy Soccer Talk Podcast last night (http://cincinnatisoccertalk.com/). He didn't really say too much of interest. Just the MLS process is ongoing, there's nothing wrong with Cincy's bid and he remains "bullish" on invite chances.  Of interest to this site....he also said Oakley is the preferred site but until "community engagement" and traffic studies are completed West End is not off the table.

 

Here's what I don't get about this MLS expansion issue:  MLS accepts 4 conforming city bids for a 2 city team expansion.  Nashville walks away with a quick win.  Then the 2nd announcement is delayed due to alleged issues with the remaining bids.  Sacramento had ownership issues post-bid yet is supposed to be the sentimental favorite because of its many past attempts to win a team.

 

So why wasn't Cinci awarded the 2nd team?  Is the MLS delaying to allow Sacramento to get its bid in order? Sounds like it was down to Cinci or Detroit.  Detroit's bid seemed solid as well, it was accepted after all.  Cinci's bid seemed wishy-washy about its stadium and did come across as being rushed to make the bid deadline. Regardless, the bid was accepted and if, as I've been reading, Cinci has the best bid, the MLS should just award the team there.  Or, is the MLS actually waiting to see what happens to the Columbus Crew?  Either way, if I were an FC Cinci proponent, I would be more than ticked-off at the MLS for this post-bid acceptance drama.