FC Cincinnati Recap 2020

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone recaps the 2020 FC Cincinnati season. 

USMNT to the 513

Nippert Stadium has been the home of FC Cincinnati since their inaugural United Soccer League season in 2016. Fans saw the team host Crystal Palace F.C. in 2016, the memorable Open Cup victories over the Columbus Crew and Chicago Fire in 2017 were under the Nippert Stadium lights, and FCC’s first win in Major League Soccer was in front of a packed home crowd on St. Patrick’s Day 2019. This Sunday, another memorable soccer moment will happen as the United States Men’s National Team will play Venzeula in the team’s final preparation match before the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup. 

The game is set to begin at 2 PM on Sunday June 9 and marks the first ever visit to the Queen City by the USMNT. It will be broadcasted nationally on FOX and will further show why Cincinnati is Soccer City, USA. Tickets are currently on sale via ussoccer.com.

In my opinion, this is one of the coolest sporting events to come to Cincinnati. The players on the USMNT are supposed to be the best that America has to offer and getting to see them play in my own backyard is incredible. I bought tickets to this game a few weeks ago and have been counting the days until kickoff. 

I believe that we will win!

Soccer Stadium Sneak Peak

One of the requirements that FC Cincinnati needed to meet before the team was welcomed into Major League Soccer was a soccer specific stadium. Everybody in the Queen City knows about the months long drama that unfolded as the team, the city, and Cincinnati Public Schools battled for months on a deal that benefitted all parties involved. Needless to say, a deal was reached and FCC became the newest MLS expansion team earlier this summer. The stadium appears to have been worth all the debate as the franchise unveiled initial design concepts that have left many soccer fans and reporters speechless.

The early designs for the stadium are gorgeous in my opinion and should the designs come to fruition, the fan experience for an FCC match should be one of the best in MLS. The seating capacity is estimated to be between 25,500 to 26,500 which is an increase from the original concept that the team unveiled earlier this year. The amount of seats would also make the stadium one of the largest soccer venues in the country. Part of the expanded seating options is the larger Bailey section which is expected to be double the size of the current Bailey section in Nippert Stadium.

Perhaps the most prominent feature of the stadium’s early design is the canopy roof. The canopy will go around the entire bowl and cover all seats. It will also serve as a way to help keep noise levels down in the surrounding West End neighborhoods while also increasing the volume inside the stadium to keep the pitch rocking. The canopy is also is also made of ethylene tetrafluoro-ethylene (ETFE) foil technology. This is cool feature as it allows for a variety of colors and patterns to be displayed on the canopy’s surface. It has been reported that the design stage will continue into 2019 with a target stadium opening date of March 2021. 

I am a fan of the stadium design and cannot wait to see the finished product when it opens in 2021. The fan experience at Nippert Stadium is phenomenal, and I think it will be even better in the new stadium. For now at least, it appears that the stadium will be worth the drama. The early designs are gorgeous, and the stadium should make an excellent home for Cincinnati’s newest major league team. 

FC Cincinnati is in MLS!

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone celebrates FC Cincinnati joining Major League Soccer!

Getting Closer...

 A few weeks ago, FC Cincinnati’s last piece in its Major League Soccer expansion bid seemingly fell into place when both Cincinnati Public Schools and Cincinnati City Council approved a deal that made the West End the future site of an FCC soccer specific stadium. FCC appeared to have all the boxes checked. Fan support and a strong ownership group were there from the beginning. However, the stadium situation was a total mess. It rotated form Oakley to the West End to Newport to no sites are in play back to the West End. Despite all the drama, a stadium deal was secured and speculation that MLS would vote on FCC’s bid at the next board of governor’s meeting ran rampant. Ultimately no vote took place although MLS did issue a statement that appeared to have singled out FCC as the frontrunner.

Fast forward to April 29 when FCC general manager Jeff Berding and team owner Carl Linder III were spotted in Los Angeles at LAFC’s stadium opener. Taylor Twellman of ESPN said he believed Berding and Linder were there to meet with MLS and that he would be “shocked” if FC Cincinnati was not announced as the next MLS expansion team in 10-14 days. FC Cincinnati then released a statement on May 2 that sounded as if it contradicted Twellman.

The club acknowledged that they met with MLS but also noted that they still had to finalize various legal agreements with CPS, the city of Cincinnati, Hamilton County, the Port Authority, and Nippert Stadium. Apparently once everything is signed and finalized, the bid will be complete and ready for review by MLS. The franchise also stated that they are scheduling a visit to Cincinnati by MLS commissioner Don Garber and other MLS officials. While this visit may be to inspect the stadium site, the statement also noted that Garber and company will meet with club ownership.

While the statement that FCC issued is not great, it is good. Trying to read between the lines, it appears that FCC needs a few signatures on its agreements with the city and CPS among others in order to fully cement them as finished. MLS has been burned by stadium situations in the past so it makes sense that the league would want everything in place before an expansion bid is granted. The statement about Nippert Stadium seems to suggest that FCC could begin MLS play in 2019 should it receive the bid and if Nippert is approved as a temporary venue until the stadium is built. The other statement that popped out at me was that Garber and league officials will meet with club ownership. If the visit were to just inspect the site, I think that would have been mentioned. In fact, the West End site is not mentioned at all in the statement. Could the visit be to iron the out last details of the bid and schedule an MLS announcement? Only time will tell.