MLS or NCAA?

Decisions, decisions. Will Cincinnati furnish an soccer specific stadium or pay to renovate U.S. Bank Arena? That is the question that the city could potentially face as FC Cincinnati seeks to move up to Major League Soccer and U.S. Bank Arena tries to uphold its end of the bargain with the NCAA to host the first two rounds of March Madness in 2022 in exchange for remodeling the arena. Odds are both of these projects will need to be funded by tax dollars, but which project will the city be willing to fund?

Let’s start with U.S. Bank Arena. It currently serves as the home to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL and also hosts various events such as the circus, concerts and WWE events. While not a physically attractive building, it does manage to house a decent amount of people. The inside of the arena could definitely use an upgrade, as the jumbotron is quite dated and the seats could be swapped out for nicer ones.

Now let’s discuss FC Cincinnati. The soccer team currently plays at Nippert Stadium and manages to draw in impressive crowds of 10,000 or more for nearly every home match. They are currently in the running to move up from the USL to MLS and become the third major professional sports team in the Queen City. A major requirement that MLS has for its teams is a soccer specific stadium. With FC Cincinnati playing on UC’s campus, Nippert probably will not cut the mustard for MLS. Should they move up, a stadium will need to be built.

So which project should the city fund? In my opinion, I think the soccer specific stadium is more important. Don’t get me wrong. U.S. Bank Arena needs to be renovated, and I would love to see the NCAA Tournament come back to Cincinnati. However, the possibility of FC Cincinnati moving up to MLS is very real, and I would rather have new major professional team to root for than one weekend of college basketball. If the NHL or the NBA were knocking on the door and saying that they would establish a new franchise in Cincinnati in exchange for the renovations of U.S. Bank Arena, then I might consider switching my vote. That is not happening though, and I already have a deep love for FC Cincinnati. Hopefully the city can find a way to finance both projects should FC Cincinnati be promoted to MLS, and the Queen City can be the home to three professional sports team and the first round of the 2022 NCAA tournament.