Were there any visuals or just the listed information given? I'm really curious how they are orienting the stadium on the site and which parcels are included, so hopefully we see a site plan tonight.

 

Also it had been assumed by many that the CET garage would be lumped in, but this is the first I've seen officially including that block in this proposal.

Word from the meeting via Twitter is that the plan is exactly as has been speculated here for months -- that the soccer stadium will be in place of Stargell and a new HS stadium will be built on the Citirama site.  Anyone with access to Google Earth and hamiltconcountyauditor.org could have figured all of this out ahead of time too. 

 

New Stargel Stadium at Citirama site.  The writing is a little grainy from the screenshot.  They say it will be large enough to accommodate a soccer field as well as football.  Does anyone know if the current stadium can accommodate a regulation soccer field?

Why build a new Stargel and a new FCC stadium? Why not just build the FCC stadium at the Citirama site and leave Stargel alone?

Why build a new Stargel and a new FCC stadium? Why not just build the FCC stadium at the Citirama site and leave Stargel alone?

 

Not completely sure.  Some demolitions would be necessary at either location. 

 

Here is the new Stargel rendering:

 

FC Cincinnati confirms: It wants Stargel site for new soccer stadium

 

FC Cincinnati is proposing to replace Cincinnati Public Schools’ Stargel Stadium with a new high school stadium in the southwest corner of Ezzard Charles Drive and John Street and build its new soccer stadium at the current Stargel site behind Robert A. Taft Information Technology High School.

 

The club’s president, Jeff Berding, confirmed the concept, which has been widely discussed in Cincinnati’s business and political community for months, to the school board on Monday night.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/02/12/fc-cincinnati-confirms-it-wants-stargel-site-for.html

Why build a new Stargel and a new FCC stadium? Why not just build the FCC stadium at the Citirama site and leave Stargel alone?

 

As I understand it, Stargel and its needs can fit in the Citirama site whereas a full fledged, 20,000 seat stadium with all the frills can't.

Saw on twitter that FCC stadium on former Stargell Site will still be called Stargell Stadium. New replacement CPS stadium, will also remain to be named Stargell Stadium.

 

I'm guessing similar to Yankee vs New Yankee stadium.

Brian Garry apparently really went after CPS as the second to last speaker last night. Asking how much money they've received from the Lindners and making accusations of back room secret deals and saying the fix is in. Mike Moroski went to twitter afterwards saying he'd received money from the biz community and labor unions, he also donated to Garry's campaign per Garry's request and said if there were any secret meetings he wasn't invited.

Saw on twitter that FCC stadium on former Stargell Site will still be called Stargell Stadium. New replacement CPS stadium, will also remain to be named Stargell Stadium.

 

I'm guessing similar to Yankee vs New Yankee stadium.

No chance FC gives up naming rights to their stadium

Saw on twitter that FCC stadium on former Stargell Site will still be called Stargell Stadium. New replacement CPS stadium, will also remain to be named Stargell Stadium.

 

I'm guessing similar to Yankee vs New Yankee stadium.

No chance FC gives up naming rights to their stadium

 

Agreed. Stadium naming rights was one of the main reasons FCC gave for needing their own stadium. Maybe they'd allow a "Shoemaker Court at Fifth Third Arena" type deal where it has both a sentimental and corporate name, but still I doubt it.

Brian Garry apparently really went after CPS as the second to last speaker last night. Asking how much money they've received from the Lindners and making accusations of back room secret deals and saying the fix is in. Mike Moroski went to twitter afterwards saying he'd received money from the biz community and labor unions, he also donated to Garry's campaign per Garry's request and said if there were any secret meetings he wasn't invited.

 

People like Garry are not productive to the discussion. They try and whip people into a froth about things that are untrue or so remote that they are not even relevant because at the end of the day, it comes down to people are afraid of change.

 

If people like him started using the their head to do more thinking instead of flapping his gums, it will be easier and quicker to get a resolution on the issue with much less contention.

Suggestion for the affordable housing people...put housing under the bleachers.  It's fairly common at universities. 

https://www.ohio.edu/housing/convocation_center.cfm

 

 

Some more goofy comments in this article:

https://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/heres-how-fc-cincinnatis-stadium-could-fit-into-west-end-neighborhood?page=2

 

So we're six months into this speculation and the people who actually live in this area have been hit with a dump truck of information that online commenters figured out months ago and digested one piece at a time. Figured it all out with free online tools available to anyone.  Google Maps.  Hamiltoncountyauditor.org.  These things aren't secrets.   

 

 

thebillshark[/member], I've enjoyed a lot of your thoughts and ideas on The West End over the years, curious to see how exactly you feel about the proposed stadium.

 

 

Thanks for asking Gordon Bombay[/member] - I have a few.

 

1.  It's going to be difficult to get the design right.  Paradoxically a modern stadium is an anti-urban thing.  First, it's an enormous structure that only gets only occasional use.  If the stadium has frontages that are long expanses of blank walls, it's sure to deaden activity on the surrounding streets.  Second, the parking needs and traffic demands are enormous.  It's hard to accommodate the typical automobile needs of a neighborhood and still maintain a neighborhood's walkability, let alone "design the church for Easter Sunday" and accommodate crush loads of vehicles for short amounts of time.  Viewed from this light an urbanist could support the Oakley Station site as a form of triage, to protect the walkability of a core neighborhood by placing the stadium in a mostly unwalkable location anyway. But I understand there is a certain psychological/nostalgic appeal to having the stadium located in the urban core, and it's also a positive for it to be accessible to tourists staying downtown. So, thinking about how it could work,

 

1a. The first issue could be mitigated by making the stadium mixed use.  Put team offices along the sides with their doors facing the street.  Perhaps have a retail/restaurant space on the corner that stays open year round. 

 

1b.  The second issue, parking, is difficult to solve.  It's impossible to construct the number of spaces that would be required by code.  People will have to accept this.  They'll have to rely on different garages across downtown providing a mix of options. The Union Terminal parking lot has over 1,000 spaces, and would have lots of spaces available for the most part except maybe on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon when the museum's busy. 

 

The thing that gets me about parking is, I'd like the neighborhood to have any parking created for the stadium be available for daily use- but it's unclear how that could happen and still accommodate the stadium crowds. At the Banks, they built an enormous parking garage underground for the stadiums and all the development on top STILL was required to provide parking. They couldn't figure out how to share. The historic conservation board is becoming strict about providing parking variances, requiring new development to negotiate long term leases for parking spaces in available garages.  Would a new development be able to lease out spaces in an FCC parking garage, thus enabling a historic building in the area to come back to life or an infill construction building to be built? I would hope so, but then there would be less spaces available to accommodate cars on game day.

 

1c.  Traffic - The Oakley proposal contained several changes to area streets that were terrible for neighborhood walkability.  The only answer here may be to ignore the city's traffic engineering department altogether, if they want to do the same in the West End.  We can't make our environment unlivable all year long to accommodate traffic for 20 events a year. 

Furthermore we can't let a stadium stop the things that should be done to fix the streets in the area.  The Liberty Street road diet must go forward.  Central Avenue should be made into a two way street its entire length.  The park maintenance garage should be torn down and Hopkins should be reconnected to Central Avenue. 

 

2a.  It does excite me to think that the CET/Town Center garage block could be redone as part of this deal. I wonder what such a proposal would look like. 

 

2b.  I also wonder what  the long term plans are for the District One police station.  The building looks aging. At least part of the lot would be used for this stadium proposal. The police memorial is also located across from it on Ezzard Charles, this would not be easy to relocate, if they wanted to keep it next to a relocated police station. (Interesting thought: there is vacant land at the NW corner of Ezzard Charles and Linn that could fit a new District One.)

 

3.  I do think it would be positive for kids growing up in the West End to have FC in the neighborhood.  No doubt Taft and Hayes Porter students would get tickets to games.  It could expand horizons in an area where kids may not see a lot of the world beyond their own neighborhood.  Who knows, the next great American soccer player could come from the West End.  Soccer is also probably a lot better for the kids injury-wise than other sports.

 

4. I actually don't think the stadium (which has a limited number of events per year,) will spur a lot of development on its own (beyond what the Lindners and 3cdc do themselves as part of this deal,) and a stadium shouldn't be needed to spur development across Central Parkway anyway.  Anything located across Central Parkway would have full access to OTR amenities, and some larger apartment buildings could fit there. It's ready, now.

 

(ADDED to original post) 5.  What is going to happen if we get into MLS and start drawing 30k-40k people to Nippert next year? Are they still going to want to build a 21,000 seat stadium? What happens to a smaller stadium if they do need something radically larger (like the size of Paul Brown stadium) in the not so distant future?  Are there retrofit possibilities if the team moves out?

 

The biggest open question for me are:

 

- How many of the buildings between Central Parkway and Central Avenue are FCC going to acquire? The theatre-turned-church on Central Avenue is probably the most obvious building they want to acquire, but they may want Parkway Automotive and/or the building that Lisnr recently announced it was going to move into.

- Are they really just going to re-route Central Avenue to where Providence Street is today? If so, that seems like an awkward configuration since the stadium will not face any major street. They already have said that they won't touch Taft HS's building at all, so it won't face Ezzard Charles. So I think it's important that the stadium face Central Parkway in some way.

- What is the new Town Center Garage going to look like? I really hope they don't just demolish the parking garage, leaving the existing building in the center of the block, and build a new, bigger garage around it. Hopefully they fully redevelop the block and we end up with a building that has ground floor retail space, improved studios for WCET/WVXU/WGUC, and perhaps the ability for additional development above the garage. Will the Music Hall skywalk be rebuilt as part of the new garage project?

4. I actually don't think the stadium (which has a limited number of events per year,) will spur a lot of development on its own (beyond what the Lindners and 3cdc do themselves as part of this deal,) and a stadium shouldn't be needed to spur development across Central Parkway anyway.  Anything located across Central Parkway would have full access to OTR amenities, and some larger apartment buildings could fit there. It's ready, now.

 

(ADDED to original post) 5.  What is going to happen if we get into MLS and start drawing 30k-40k people to Nippert next year? Are they still going to want to build a 21,000 seat stadium? What happens to a smaller stadium if they do need something radically larger (like the size of Paul Brown stadium) in the not so distant future?  Are there retrofit possibilities if the team moves out?

 

4. As-is the West End is very low drive-to urbanism density right now.  Except for the oldest surviving public housing from the 30s, everything has parking.  All of the stuff by I-75 that was built in the 60s has parking spaces for every unit.  Stanley Rowe Towers is a retirement home and so doesn't have much parking, but it doesn't create any street activity.  City West is all drive-to urbanism.  Often there is more "street life" in the driveway alleys than on the streets the townhomes face.  People don't use their front doors much. 

 

I have no faith that the Lindners are going to fill in the area around this stadium with real urbanism -- i.e. almost zero parking -- despite the presence of a subway tunnel under Central Parkway and an unused station at Liberty.  Therefore I'm skeptical that a ton of life will be breathed into the area.  People will walk their dogs around the block but they won't walk to the new Kroger.  They'll drive that pathetically short distance. 

 

5. Talking to my brother tonight on the phone, who doesn't live here, he remarked at how shabby Paul Brown is looking.  Since we live here we don't notice its gradual deterioration.  The thing needs to be power washed, at least.  Not difficult to imagine Paul Brown being used for playoff games or the big exhibitions with the foreign teams.  In the future we might see Paul Brown used for regular season Saturday games and the west end stadium used for Wednesday night games. 

 

 

 

The biggest open question for me are:

 

- How many of the buildings between Central Parkway and Central Avenue are FCC going to acquire? The theatre-turned-church on Central Avenue is probably the most obvious building they want to acquire, but they may want Parkway Automotive and/or the building that Lisnr recently announced it was going to move into.

- Are they really just going to re-route Central Avenue to where Providence Street is today? If so, that seems like an awkward configuration since the stadium will not face any major street. They already have said that they won't touch Taft HS's building at all, so it won't face Ezzard Charles. So I think it's important that the stadium face Central Parkway in some way.

- What is the new Town Center Garage going to look like? I really hope they don't just demolish the parking garage, leaving the existing building in the center of the block, and build a new, bigger garage around it. Hopefully they fully redevelop the block and we end up with a building that has ground floor retail space, improved studios for WCET/WVXU/WGUC, and perhaps the ability for additional development above the garage. Will the Music Hall skywalk be rebuilt as part of the new garage project?

 

True.  They may get the properties you mention plus the cell phone tower land and have some kind of grand entrance on Central Parkway at 15th street.

Cincinnati school board members open to FC Cincinnati stadium proposal

 

Two school board members said they are keeping an open mind about FC Cincinnati's proposal to buy Cincinnati Public Schools property in the West End for a new soccer-specific stadium and relocate the existing CPS stadium across the street.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/02/13/cincinnati-school-board-members-open-to-fc.html

FC Cincinnati's Berding to West End residents: 'If you don't want us, we won't build here'

 

FC Cincinnati is striving to engage the West End community in its efforts to build a $200 million soccer stadium. But if the neighborhood doesn’t want it, the team won’t build it there, general manager Jeff Berding said Tuesday night.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/02/13/berding-to-west-end-residents-if-you-dont-want-us.html

 

thebillshark[/member], I've enjoyed a lot of your thoughts and ideas on The West End over the years, curious to see how exactly you feel about the proposed stadium.

 

 

Thanks for asking Gordon Bombay[/member] - I have a few.

 

(ADDED to original post) 5.  What is going to happen if we get into MLS and start drawing 30k-40k people to Nippert next year? Are they still going to want to build a 21,000 seat stadium? What happens to a smaller stadium if they do need something radically larger (like the size of Paul Brown stadium) in the not so distant future?  Are there retrofit possibilities if the team moves out?

 

 

Thanks for the write up. I enjoyed it too. I just want to talk about your added point 5. The short answer is no. The FCC stadium is going to be designed to hold 21 or 25K with room for expansion to 30k. Averaging 30K at Nippert while not impossible would hard, but this team has proved its ability to draw fans. MLS likes small urban stadiums because in their short history they've realized this is what works best for their product (just look at images of games at NE, CHI and Dallas to see why).  Seattle and Atlanta both play in urban located NFL stadiums and both have some of the largest fan bases in MLS. Seattle averaged 43,666 fans in 2017 while Atlanta averaged a record breaking 48,200. These are also 2 cities with significantly larger populations than Cincinnati. Maybe in 100 years but there's no way FCC would ever need a PBS sized stadium any time soon. I think you'll see a 21K stadium sold out for every game but FCC has already stated they plan on stopping season ticket sales around 18k and leaving the rest of single game sales. I think 30K once they expand it will be the prefect size.

^ You have to figure, over in Europe, they typically have 40-50k stadiums, not the huge 100k models that host World CUp games. It is always better to be on the smaller end than larger end. YOu can always raise ticket prices easier to meet demand than expand only to have empty seats down the line. Look at what baseball did in the 90s. It went from 50-60k seat stadiums down to 40k seat stadiums.

4. I actually don't think the stadium (which has a limited number of events per year,) will spur a lot of development on its own (beyond what the Lindners and 3cdc do themselves as part of this deal,) and a stadium shouldn't be needed to spur development across Central Parkway anyway.  Anything located across Central Parkway would have full access to OTR amenities, and some larger apartment buildings could fit there. It's ready, now.

 

(ADDED to original post) 5.  What is going to happen if we get into MLS and start drawing 30k-40k people to Nippert next year? Are they still going to want to build a 21,000 seat stadium? What happens to a smaller stadium if they do need something radically larger (like the size of Paul Brown stadium) in the not so distant future?  Are there retrofit possibilities if the team moves out?

 

4. As-is the West End is very low drive-to urbanism density right now.  Except for the oldest surviving public housing from the 30s, everything has parking.  All of the stuff by I-75 that was built in the 60s has parking spaces for every unit.  Stanley Rowe Towers is a retirement home and so doesn't have much parking, but it doesn't create any street activity.  City West is all drive-to urbanism.  Often there is more "street life" in the driveway alleys than on the streets the townhomes face.  People don't use their front doors much. 

 

I have no faith that the Lindners are going to fill in the area around this stadium with real urbanism -- i.e. almost zero parking -- despite the presence of a subway tunnel under Central Parkway and an unused station at Liberty.  Therefore I'm skeptical that a ton of life will be breathed into the area.  People will walk their dogs around the block but they won't walk to the new Kroger.  They'll drive that pathetically short distance. 

 

5. Talking to my brother tonight on the phone, who doesn't live here, he remarked at how shabby Paul Brown is looking.  Since we live here we don't notice its gradual deterioration.  The thing needs to be power washed, at least.  Not difficult to imagine Paul Brown being used for playoff games or the big exhibitions with the foreign teams.  In the future we might see Paul Brown used for regular season Saturday games and the west end stadium used for Wednesday night games. 

 

 

 

I don't see FC ever playing MLS games at Paul Brown.  I think the only ones that could possibly be played there are friendlies or USMNT/USWNT games, and even for those I don't see happening.  FC would get all the revenue for games at their stadium.  I assume they'll game some percentage of the parking revenue as well.  They'd also get all the free advertising for their privately owned stadium when those friendlies and international matches are on TV.  They're not going to pay over $200 million to build a stadium then decide to play some games somewhere else.  They'd have to pay the Brown family and Hamilton county to even use PBS and also give up a portion of the revenue.  If they end up getting this stadium built they're going to want to use it as much as possible to make their money back. 

jmecklenborg[/member] if you want to make pedestrian and mass transit oriented, you need to have places to justify moving people too. The stadium will be a help to the streetcar because it gives people another destination that they would ride the streetcar for and would allow them to park farther away from the stadium. People are more likely to take it to a soccer game than football or baseball because it is easier for them to park at the Banks or in the CBD and take the Streetcar over than parking in the West End. This would be great for the streetcar.

 

ALso, if there ever is hope of subway tunnels ever being used, this will help give another destination on the line for people to use it.

 

I remember living in Cleveland many years ago and the only time the masses ever took the light rail was for big events like sporting events, St. Patricks day, etc. This is was mass transit is in the Midwest.

Except in Chicago and even Minneapolis these days ;).

 

Your statement only really applies to St Louis and Cleveland to a degree, but even then ridership is still higher than Cincinnati.

Chicago is a different animal, it does not really fit into the Midwest model.

 

Minneapolis does have growing ridership, but it is still models more like a Midwestern city than a larger east coast city. Philly, DC, Boston, SF it is not.

I don't see FC ever playing MLS games at Paul Brown.  I think the only ones that could possibly be played there are friendlies or USMNT/USWNT games, and even for those I don't see happening.

 

The Bengals lease will be renegotiated in the mid to late 2020s.  That is only a few years after the new MLS stadium opens.  A 65,000 seat stadium with 80~ luxury boxes can generate more revenue for a soccer team than can their 25,000 seat stadium, even if they're giving Mike Brown a nice cut. 

 

jmecklenborg[/member] if you want to make pedestrian and mass transit oriented, you need to have places to justify moving people too. The stadium will be a help to the streetcar because it gives people another destination that they would ride the streetcar for and would allow them to park farther away from the stadium. People are more likely to take it to a soccer game than football or baseball because it is easier for them to park at the Banks or in the CBD and take the Streetcar over than parking in the West End. This would be great for the streetcar.

 

ALso, if there ever is hope of subway tunnels ever being used, this will help give another destination on the line for people to use it.

 

I predict relatively little new streetcar ridershp -- the Race St. stations are both over 1,500 feet away from the stadium. 

^ probably right on that. I was thinking it gives more people a reason to ride it and that can't hurt.

 

I know myself, I don't live downtown and it would give me an excuse to park at the Banks or Ftn Square and ride it to a game. Whereas I would not ever need to or want to do that for a Reds or Bengals game.

If the county cares, they will offer a special parking deal at The Banks garage on FCC game days and throw in a streetcar pass for the day.

 

If the city cares, they will add a new crosswalk across Elm Street just south of the 15th & Elm streetcar stop, and make Wade a pedestrian corridor over to the new stadium.

 

This city has a lot of great potential that could be unlocked if our elected leaders cared to do so.

This is the time to buy West End property. 

 

And so it begins.  People who have sat on derelict property for decades (in this case 2003) are coming out of the woodwork, thinking they can get rich:

https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/CIN/1568302/845-Charlotte-St-Cincinnati-OH-45214

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1167526,-84.528664,3a,75y,192h,95.89t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sVuzLNBIggYDy_IBIOOfC1Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

 

Slow down there Jake. I'm betting that "Jimmie and Ruby Jamison" now of Mudville, who appear to have acquired the property by gift or inheritance, lived there from 1988 until years later. I would say that accusing them of "sitting on derelict property" is a little harsh since that was their family home until they hit the big time and moved to that castle in Madisonville with the junk cars out in front. I'd guess these are some very low income folks who are trying to get out from under the burden of a house they once lived in and, until now, could not hope to sell. Let's give them a hand for not demolishing this cute little urban cottage.

Lol at calling that building cute

Actually, it is quite lovely, but for the crapola around it.

This is the time to buy West End property. 

 

And so it begins.  People who have sat on derelict property for decades (in this case 2003) are coming out of the woodwork, thinking they can get rich:

https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/CIN/1568302/845-Charlotte-St-Cincinnati-OH-45214

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1167526,-84.528664,3a,75y,192h,95.89t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sVuzLNBIggYDy_IBIOOfC1Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

 

 

maybe the property has sat derelict because it was unsellable

This is the time to buy West End property. 

 

And so it begins.  People who have sat on derelict property for decades (in this case 2003) are coming out of the woodwork, thinking they can get rich:

https://www.sibcycline.com/Listing/CIN/1568302/845-Charlotte-St-Cincinnati-OH-45214

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1167526,-84.528664,3a,75y,192h,95.89t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sVuzLNBIggYDy_IBIOOfC1Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

 

 

maybe the property has sat derelict because it was unsellable

 

No these people were sitting on these properties waiting to cash out.  There has been increased interest in the West End over the past few years thanks to OTRs revival.  Guess what adjacent neighborhoods are usually the next to go up in value usually, but a lot of Cincinnatians have no clue how gentrification works.

^ There's some speculation going on in the West End, but this particularly house looks like it's had the same owners for 30 years. I doubt they sat on it for 3 decades waiting to cash out. Until now it probably wasn't worth the effort to try and sell. It actually doesn't look like it's in all that bad of shape so I'm surprised they have it listed as a tear down.

That is now the only house left on the south side of Charlotte between Lynn and Baymiller.  I was told once that the Pastor of one of those churches was buying up all the property he could and demoing the buildings for some future mega church.  Not sure how true that is, but that block is nearly gone.

 

Update:  Guess it's not speculation

 

http://www.brightstarcc.org/gallery-items/slide-1-concept-design/

We don't have any interior pictures so there is no way ballpark assess the value of this house.  A slightly smaller house sold last year in the 900 block of Charlotte for $10,000.  I thought about buying it at the time and now maybe I should have.  Meanwhile, there have been no takers on the Poplar St. 6-unit directly across from the Stanley Rowe Towers. 

 

The problem with the West End is that it is a very large area -- much larger than OTR, but people are locked mentally into the idea that neighborhoods are all the same size. 

 

a lot of Cincinnatians have no clue how gentrification works.

 

Yeah -- and the handful that do are cashing in.  Speaking of which, Josh Spring owns 3 lots on York St.  He bought them in 2015 for $8,000 total.  We'll see how dedicated he is to the homeless when somebody waves some big money at him.  I remember that listing because the three lots were listed at $15,000. 

 

The people who made the biggest and easiest money in OTR were the people who held onto vacant lots.  That will repeat in the West End. 

 

 

It is unfair to describe these poor folks as "sitting on derelict property" and waiting to "cash in."

 

These folks are as poor as poor gets. They lived in that little house probably without the first ability to fix the most basic of problems. And when they moved to the tiny property in Mudville, in 2003 that was an upgrade  to a lesser slum property.

 

Now some savvy real estate lady has come along and listed the property for all of $55,000. I'm glad they didn't sell when $10,000 would have bought that house.

Sounds like tonight's West End meeting did not go well.

 

The West End Community Council to discuss FC Cincinnati stadium off to a rowdy start with shouting from Josh Spring of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. He was almost pulled out by police but they let him stay. [Video included at link]

 

Crowd erupts as one West End woman says of FC Cincnnati: "Quit having these meetings — we don’t want you here. Please stop coming here. We don’t even play soccer. Go somewhere where they play soccer."

 

Not going to sugarcoat it - this is not going well for FC Cincinnati. Crowd cheers every time an insult is hurled at club or stadium. Every speaker so far has been negative. But it comes down to who on West End Community Council votes on this deal.Amanda Seitz added,

Golf is Editing - 60 of 96

 

@golf4miami

I'm beginning to worry that FCC doesn't have the diplomacy to get this done. @cincysoccertalk @BryanWeigel

…

4:05 PM - 20 Feb 2018

 

This is hands down the most eventful council meeting I’ve ever covered.Amanda Seitz added,

 

[Video]0:09

Amanda Seitz

 

@AmandaSeitz1

West End Community Council members just wrapped up a shouting match with speaker named Stefan. He accused council member of not living in community.

4:11 PM - 20 Feb 2018 from Cincinnati, OH

Sad - For a neighborhood that is begging for investment, when an opportunity comes to help it revitalize, the residents will always fight it. You have people like Josh Spring who are too stupid for their own good

West End residents unleash concerns over potential FC Cincinnati stadium

 

West End residents aired out their concerns and opposition, many of them loudly, about an FC Cincinnati stadium in their neighborhood during an often-raucous West End Community Council meeting on Tuesday night.

 

“I wish y’all would go somewhere else,” LaShon Taylor, a lifelong West End resident, said to FC Cincinnati president and general manager Jeff Berding to loud applause. “No one wants y’all here. Please go somewhere else.”

 

The meeting, often interrupted by shouting, was a chance for residents to speak out about the stadium. The community council did not conduct a vote of its members.

 

FC Cincinnati’s owners have committed to self-financing a $200 million stadium if the club wins a Major League Soccer expansion franchise. Berding told me on Tuesday he still expects MLS to make a decision by the end of February. The West End, Oakley and Newport are the sites the club is considering to build the stadium if it wins the franchise. Most recent efforts have centered on the West End.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/02/20/west-end-residents-unleash-concerns-over-potential.html

Sad - For a neighborhood that is begging for investment, when an opportunity comes to help it revitalize, the residents will always fight it. You have people like Josh Spring who are too stupid for their own good

 

It's worth repeating that Josh Spring personally owns (not an organization he is affiliated with) three vacant lots (technically two -- one is 25 feet and the other is 50 feet) in the West End on York St., which he got for VERY cheap in 2015.  Plus 29 & 31 E. Clifton, which he also got for very cheap ($8,500 each) back in 2013.  In five years these properties could be worth several hundred thousand dollars. 

Hmmmmmm....

 

https://amp.cincinnati.com/amp/345401002?__twitter_impression=true

 

Speaking of FC Cincinnati, some public speakers at Monday night's school board meeting asked whether any board members received campaign donations from the team's ownership group last year. PX checked campaign finance records. Board members Ericka Copeland-Dansby, Mike Moroski and Melanie Bates each received money from FC Cincinnati officials. Owner/CEO Carl H. Lindner III ($2,500) and owner Scott Farmer ($5,000) donated to Copeland-Dansby. Moroski received contributions from team president/owner Jeff Berding ($125) and Farmer's wife, Mary Farmer ($1,000). The Farmers also gave $1,000 to Bates, as well as $1,000 each to Daniel Minera and Marcia Futel. Neither Minera nor Futel won.

 

Sounds like FCC is in bed with many of the CPS school board members, and art pulling purse strings and political favors along the way.

Hmmmmmm....

 

https://amp.cincinnati.com/amp/345401002?__twitter_impression=true

 

Speaking of FC Cincinnati, some public speakers at Monday night's school board meeting asked whether any board members received campaign donations from the team's ownership group last year. PX checked campaign finance records. Board members Ericka Copeland-Dansby, Mike Moroski and Melanie Bates each received money from FC Cincinnati officials. Owner/CEO Carl H. Lindner III ($2,500) and owner Scott Farmer ($5,000) donated to Copeland-Dansby. Moroski received contributions from team president/owner Jeff Berding ($125) and Farmer's wife, Mary Farmer ($1,000). The Farmers also gave $1,000 to Bates, as well as $1,000 each to Daniel Minera and Marcia Futel. Neither Minera nor Futel won.

 

Sounds like FCC is in bed with many of the CPS school board members, and art pulling purse strings and political favors along the way.

 

Elections have consequences.

Why was the Covington IRS site discounted so early in the process? If this whole conversation was taking place just a year or two in the future, closer to the date it will be vacated, it would be the obvious choice. Enormous site, closest to the Banks and it’s 8,000 parking spots, filling a vacant space in downtown Covington they’ll be desperate to fill, could be integrated with an expanded NKY convention center, close to bars and restaurants on both sides of the river, close to gorgeous Suspension Bridge link.

 

The West End discussion has me thinking past the point of sale to how it could work, but it is putting a square peg in a round hole compared to the Covington site that will be available soon.

Why was the Covington IRS site discounted so early in the process? If this whole conversation was taking place just a year or two in the future, closer to the date it will be vacated, it would be the obvious choice. Enormous site, closest to the Banks and it’s 8,000 parking spots, filling a vacant space in downtown Covington they’ll be desperate to fill, could be integrated with an expanded NKY convention center, close to bars and restaurants on both sides of the river, close to gorgeous Suspension Bridge link.

 

The West End discussion has me thinking past the point of sale to how it could work, but it is putting a square peg in a round hole compared to the Covington site that will be available soon.

We'll see when that IRS site actually gets developed.  Government owned properties never get sold very quickly. 

^with the power players and local and state governments involved you’d think they could move that deal through the process on schedule though.

There's no reason to worry about the IRS site when FCC apparently has a deal done in Newport. Federal government site sales can take years (see Fort Thomas Tower Park homes). There's been a vocal group FCC fans against KY since day one (including booing Newport when it was announced as a possibility). I'd say at this point FCC will try from WE then Oakley then their fall back is Newport.