They flipped on the lights this past weekend. The stadium doesn't look ready.  Good thing the season is delayed. 

10 hours ago, jmecklenborg said:

They flipped on the lights this past weekend. The stadium doesn't look ready.  Good thing the season is delayed. 

Those are field lights and they’ve been on most nights for over a month. I check the webcam almost everyday lol (sadly).

They definitely seem a few weeks behind tho. Putting up the fancy lighting on the Facade has taken a long time and still isn’t complete but we should see them test it in the next 2-3 weeks tho.

 

In other news this could brighten things up if done correctly: www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/01/30/fc-cincinnati-commissions-four-artworks-murals-for.amp.html

 

 

Edited February 2, 20214 yr by 646empire

I wonder how in depth into the story of the West End these murals would go. I'd personally like them to include the entire West End chapter of "Contested Ground", but that's just me.

Update of West End Stadium from Central. I heard a rumor this weekend that the old Burger beer lagering tunnels under here were filled with gravel during construction to prevent any collapse or structural issues or future maintenance for the lot. Has anyone else heard this or know if it's true? I guess it's better than out-right demolishing the tunnels but still seems like a wasted opportunity. 

 

Some info regarding potential changes to Central Parkway streetscape (from 12th to Liberty). This is from an email I was cc'ed on:

 

Quote

Human Nature, SOM, and Kleingers are working with FC Cincinnati, the Central Parkway Task Force, community stakeholders, and area leaders to develop a first-phase vision for Central Parkway between 12th and Liberty, with the goal of establishing a conceptual direction for the anatomy of the street. The vision will position Phase I improvements that will set the stage for additional investment in the larger streetscape area and surrounding community. The Phase I planning effort kicked off on February 19th and is expected to take about four weeks. We enjoyed seeing many of you at the kickoff meeting.

 

To inform this effort, we are asking for your assistance by completing an Aspirations Survey. The survey is lengthy, but is intended to help establish some overarching goals and principles that can be a “north star” for the Planning team as the vision develops. More detailed community engagement will be conducted as part of later phases.

 

The survey is available here: 

https://forms.gle/7edteTNT1wMSsqN1A

 

As the period for stakeholder engagement for this initial effort is compressed, we need your help ensuring the answers we get are comprehensive and representative. Our intent is that completion of the survey should be focused among representative stakeholders, so with that in mind please feel free to judiciously share the survey with appropriate individuals.

 

To give the Planning team time to document takeaways prior to our next stakeholder meeting, we are requesting all survey responses be submitted by Midnight, Wednesday, February 24th.

 

If you have any specific questions that can't be addressed through the survey itself, please reply to this email or reach back out to me at [email protected] or contact Chris Manning at [email protected]. 

 

The survey had one question that said it was likely that traffic lanes will "only take up 40-50 feet of the 150-foot wide right-of-way". Needless to say, if the City is serious about setting aside ~100' of the ROW for non-vehicular use (representing ~5 acres), this would be a huge opportunity (and frankly, a huge challenge) to design successfully. I'd encourage folks to reach out to Roger Weber at [email protected] or Chris Manning at [email protected] if you have input. 

 

 

Here's a rough image showing a the space that represented by 100' width of existing ROW from Libery to 12th:

I started filling out the survey and then realized I needed to think a lot more about what I would like to see go in place here.

 

I've been a strong advocate for tall buildings along Central Parkway. 6-7 story buildings ideally with the wide ROW. Obviously with the subway tunnels, we aren't going to build on top of the current roadway with structures, but It'll be important to figure out what we can do here, and what would make sense if we tried to continue this up north past Liberty. Something that could feel contiguous. The thing that really got me was thinking about what examples from other cities we could look at. I think it's important to look well beyond our local neighbors and consider designs in major European and South American cities for inspiration.

Taylor Twellman is pumped for FC Cincinnati's latest West End Stadium progress

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2021/02/23/taylor-twellman-pumped-fc-cincinnatis-latest-west-end-stadium-progress

16 minutes ago, oakiehigh said:

Taylor Twellman is pumped for FC Cincinnati's latest West End Stadium progress

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2021/02/23/taylor-twellman-pumped-fc-cincinnatis-latest-west-end-stadium-progress

Are we going to have a name for the stadium before it opens??

Quibi

 

😆

3 hours ago, ryanlammi said:

I started filling out the survey and then realized I needed to think a lot more about what I would like to see go in place here.

 

I've been a strong advocate for tall buildings along Central Parkway. 6-7 story buildings ideally with the wide ROW. Obviously with the subway tunnels, we aren't going to build on top of the current roadway with structures, but It'll be important to figure out what we can do here, and what would make sense if we tried to continue this up north past Liberty. Something that could feel contiguous. The thing that really got me was thinking about what examples from other cities we could look at. I think it's important to look well beyond our local neighbors and consider designs in major European and South American cities for inspiration.

Took me a few days to think it through myself! Just finished it this morning. 

Get a first look at FC Cincinnati’s new stadium bars, party deck

 

 

FC Cincinnati has given an early look at what a plaza offering the best views in its new West End Stadium will look like, along with a peek at its three bars.

 

The stadium is taking shape in time for its planned opening in mid-May for FC Cincinnati’s Major League Soccer home opener. In fact, construction is 95% complete, said Dan Lolli, FC Cincinnati’s vice president of facilities and stadium general manager.

 

The bars are under construction, making it clear where fans will be able to gather and get a beer.

 

The First Financial Club, which is available to fans in 2,100 seats, is on the field level below the main concourse. It’s surrounded by brick and it’s aimed at honoring Cincinnati’s brewing history. The stadium sits across the street from the old Burger brewery.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/02/25/get-a-first-look-at-fc-cincinnati-s-new-stadium-ba.html

According to Cincy Soccer Talk the LED fins are going to mostly be on the East side so the neighborhood on the west side won't be bothered by the lights. Looking at the renderings this makes sense. 

 

I bought my season tickets this week and we're in the south end. I had Real Salt Lake season tickets for five years and just comparing the WES renderings and what I've been told to what I experienced at RioTinto Stadium, the new WES might be the nicest soccer stadium in the country. I just hope I can actually see a game with attendance set at 35%

2 hours ago, JaceTheAce41 said:

According to Cincy Soccer Talk the LED fins are going to mostly be on the East side so the neighborhood on the west side won't be bothered by the lights. Looking at the renderings this makes sense. 

 

I bought my season tickets this week and we're in the south end. I had Real Salt Lake season tickets for five years and just comparing the WES renderings and what I've been told to what I experienced at RioTinto Stadium, the new WES might be the nicest soccer stadium in the country. I just hope I can actually see a game with attendance set at 35%

Yeah there aren't any fins on the west side of the stadium.  Even the north and south ends have not that many fins that are much more spaced out, so it shouldn't be much light in those directions.  The east side has the vast majority of the fins all really close together so it almost looks like a video board.  You can see some examples of what the fins can do on their website. 

 

https://www.westendstadium.com/

 

Hopefully Dewine increases the allowed attendance as we get more later in the year.  Covid cases should continue to go down as more people get vaccinated. 

Edited February 26, 20214 yr by Cincy513

I’m told they are test lighting the Fins tonight! And it’s realllllly dramatic. No photos sorry. But still exciting. I read this past week they will be doing a big media event in the next couple weeks to show off the lighting tech

I’m told they are test lighting the Fins tonight! And it’s realllllly dramatic. No photos sorry. But still exciting. I read this past week they will be doing a big media event in the next couple weeks to show off the lighting tech

Yep. I saw a segment of fins that were being tested last night. It definitely makes a statement.

 

I drove by the new Columbus stadium over the weekend and was extremely underwhelmed compared to what was built in Cincinnati. FC stadium, at least on the outside and location definitely takes the cake.

14 minutes ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

I drove by the new Columbus stadium over the weekend and was extremely underwhelmed compared to what was built in Cincinnati. FC stadium, at least on the outside and location definitely takes the cake.

 

Did you drive by on 670 or Nationwide?

Nationwide

 

and to be fair, what really distinguished it for me was how it fit in with the urban fabric. The FC stadium is pretty much squeezed into a dense area where Crew stadium sits on the fringe and there is a lot of open space especially on the North and West sides.

Edited March 8, 20214 yr by Brutus_buckeye

1 hour ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

I drove by the new Columbus stadium over the weekend and was extremely underwhelmed compared to what was built in Cincinnati. FC stadium, at least on the outside and location definitely takes the cake.

 

I haven’t seen the Columbus stadium in person but I have seen construction pics and the construction cam and I must say I agree with you. The renderings for the crew stadium looked a lot more interesting than what it’s turning out to be( I know renderings are almost always off some lol). Im not feeling the metal panels they wrapped that stadium in, the Dark Metal Panels along with using it for the roof and the seat color choice also makes the inside look superrrr dark. On the flip side Cincys place looks realllllly fun and built for hype.

Edited March 8, 20214 yr by 646empire

12 minutes ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

Nationwide

 

and to be fair, what really distinguished it for me was how it fit in with the urban fabric. The FC stadium is pretty much squeezed into a dense area where Crew stadium sits on the fringe and there is a lot of open space especially on the North and West sides.

They have plans to build apartments and such around the stadium so it should look better in the coming years, both venues are top notch tho I’m happy they look very different I would’ve hated for both cities to have stadiums that looked similar. 

I like the exterior look of the Columbus stadium more during the day.  At night I'm sure I'll like Cincy's more with the LED fins.  Inside the stadium Cincy's is much bigger and better. 

5 minutes ago, Cincy513 said:

Inside the stadium Cincy's is much bigger and better. 

Wait til you see the inside of the “West Building” it’s super premium and very well designed. 50+ suites more than any other in the league by far, the clubs spaces are crazy nice too. I read last week that the team store will be the leagues biggest, and the jumbo screen is also the leagues biggest. I’m happy they went all in the way they did, I can only imagine the scene down there once COVID restrictions are lifted and they have a competitive team.

I like how the West End Stadium fits into the neighborhood. I've mentioned before that it reminds me of some of the newer stadiums in Europe in that it's very modern surrounded by old buildings. Tottenham's stadium is a great example. I think the seating layout and the fin-facade on FCC's stadium is more interesting than the two other MLS stadiums opening this year. I like what Columbus is doing with their roof but the seating layout doesn't look that great to me. Of the three stadiums opening this year FCC's is the best looking with Cbus second and Austin third. 

 

Nashville and St. Louis' stadiums are pretty boring by comparison to FCC and Columbus. Nashville's stadium is especially boring as it's just a box with a canopy. 

I think both stadiums are going to be great, and it's incredibly exciting that our state is building/opening two beautiful soccer stadiums in the same year. Not bad for a "football state" ;)

 

I love that they are very unique from each other and each have their own character when it comes to architecture, location, seating, etc. A lot of people from each city / fan base will visiting the other team's stadium, so it will be nice to get a completely unique experience between the two. 

 

Full light testing 

 

I'm surprised I haven't missed a conversation about the survey that made it's round about the Central Parkway's redesign. On twitter, the general sentiment that this is somehting that the City Planning Department should be leading and not a private organization. I tend to agree though I do believe they have included some really great alternate futures for what Central Parkway could be.

 

 

Edited March 12, 20214 yr by Chas Wiederhold

23 minutes ago, Chas Wiederhold said:

I'm surprised I haven't missed a conversation about the survey that made it's round about the Central Parkway's redesign.

 

It's been discussed here some

 

This isn't exactly related to FCC, but does anyone know if Sam Adams is going to fill in the corner here? They built the loading dock facing the other direction, leaving this CMU wall and an empty spot right at the corner. I can't imagine they're done here but I also haven't seen a rendering or site plan of the final product.  

1 hour ago, Chas Wiederhold said:

I'm surprised I haven't missed a conversation about the survey that made it's round about the Central Parkway's redesign. On twitter, the general sentiment that this is somehting that the City Planning Department should be leading and not a private organization. I tend to agree though I do believe they have included some really great alternate futures for what Central Parkway could be.

 

I think it's a legit criticism that the city planning department should be doing this, but the root of the problem is that the planning department has been seeing their funding slashed repeatedly for years. I doubt they have the resources to take this on, especially with a quick turnaround. 

2 hours ago, DEPACincy said:

 

I think it's a legit criticism that the city planning department should be doing this, but the root of the problem is that the planning department has been seeing their funding slashed repeatedly for years. I doubt they have the resources to take this on, especially with a quick turnaround. 

Who can explain how the City Planning Department can get a boost so it can take on something like this?

35 minutes ago, Chas Wiederhold said:

Who can explain how the City Planning Department can get a boost so it can take on something like this?

I think it's just budget more money? They made the fairly reasonable request for one more city planner in the next budget cycle. 

 

https://cincinnatioh.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4816755&GUID=D2151946-8DA9-478A-8745-1313E29FFAB0 

 

The department currently has 8 people on staff with 1 person splitting time with DCED and 2 empty positions.

Perhaps the scope of this study will take more resources than the Planning Staff could provide, even if properly funded.  A comprehensive study might take 8-10 people and that would be the entire Planning Staff.  Outsourcing the work to an organization that has completed similar work may be the most efficient way to get it done.

 

One comment I have is: to make Cincinnati more walkable, the one way streets need to be eliminated.  9th Street, for an example, becomes a 45 MPH thoroughfare as downtown workers try to get to I-75 as quickly as possible.

 

Edited March 13, 20214 yr by thesenator

FCC stadium is daytime testing. It is pretty visible on an overcast day, which luckily in Cincinnati is 350 days a year.  

 

On 3/13/2021 at 5:18 PM, Dev said:

 

The department currently has 8 people on staff with 1 person splitting time with DCED and 2 empty positions.

 

Kind of insane. I don't know what the average planning department size for a city as big as Cincinnati is, but I've seen planning departments with 10 people for cities a fraction of our size. I would imagine the average for peer cities is 3 to 4 times larger than Cincinnati's, in terms of staffing.

As a season ticket member, I got an email about parking with this link. It's good to see the club encourage streetcar use. https://www.fccincinnati.com/parking

1 hour ago, JaceTheAce41 said:

As a season ticket member, I got an email about parking with this link. It's good to see the club encourage streetcar use. https://www.fccincinnati.com/parking

 

How much parking is that new garage going to have? It feels like that is a terrible idea as it will just shotgun hundreds of cars onto John Street all at once since there's barely any walking time to the garage.

A great  pic I seen on Twitter earlier today. I heard the official fin lighting show off for the media is tomorrow? May or may not be true but they are suppose to show it off in full very soon.

https://hgcconstruction.com/2021/03/16/pitch-bar-coming-soon/?fbclid=IwAR3HB8ovFDqBIsP-GVly8zb18DMyuDGpT1LxAcU9h6VQkxXKSuRaV7wJgLQ
 

I like to call this FC Cincinnati effect. Abandoned church on central parkway will be rehabbed as a new soccer themed sports bar.

 

Not sure where this is exactly located, but I’m glad we are seeing some of the after effects of having build a stadium in the west end with new businesses opening.

That soccer bar sounds like a really cool idea.  Multiple levels with a rooftop and a patio.  I wonder where exactly it is on Central.

 

I can't wait until the ballet is able to move so that little parking lot can be turned into literally anything else. 

My guess is this building. I noticed it has been painted.

 

1 hour ago, Troeros2 said:

Not sure where this is exactly located

The Pitch will be at 1430 Central Parkway, in the old Metropolitan Baptist Church building. Here is their new Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/thepitchcincy/

 

 

4 minutes ago, Chas Wiederhold said:

My guess is this building.

No... I'm not sure what the plans are for that one. 

1 hour ago, Troeros2 said:

https://hgcconstruction.com/2021/03/16/pitch-bar-coming-soon/?fbclid=IwAR3HB8ovFDqBIsP-GVly8zb18DMyuDGpT1LxAcU9h6VQkxXKSuRaV7wJgLQ
 

I like to call this FC Cincinnati effect. Abandoned church on central parkway will be rehabbed as a new soccer themed sports bar.

 

 

As far as I can tell this is the only project that has been directly attributed to FC Cincinnati. Stadium opens in less than two months. 

3 minutes ago, thomasbw said:

As far as I can tell this is the only project that has been directly attributed to FC Cincinnati. Stadium opens in less than two months. 

yeah because it’s not like there has been a massive world wide pandemic that has caused much uncertainty in the service industry 🙄

 

I’m sure we will see more projects like this in the near future, especially as more people get vaccinated and restrictions lessen.

45 minutes ago, jwulsin said:

The Pitch will be at 1430 Central Parkway, in the old Metropolitan Baptist Church building. Here is their new Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/thepitchcincy/

 

 

No... I'm not sure what the plans are for that one. 

 Ah dang! That's my old block. I missed the detail about the church.

The two buildings look identical except for ornament and material so I'll take this L with my dignity.

That building is technically in Otr ^ right?

22 hours ago, Chas Wiederhold said:

My guess is this building. I noticed it has been painted.

 

I just learned that 1706 Central Parkway was renovated into office space: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMkOG5LBKXz/?igshid=169avfywe6ar3 

Tonight!