( CINCINNATI, OH ) -- Hamilton County Commissioners say they are giving two options for a future home of FC Cincinnati. Plan A, which commissioners are pushing for the most, is still the use of Paul Brown Stadium.
Major League Soccer has said on multiple occasions that they require their teams to have soccer-specific stadiums. However, Hamilton County Commission President Todd Portune says the Commissioner of MLS gave a statement recently saying that that policy may need to be looked at. Portune says he is working on setting up a call with MLS Commissioner Don Garber to make a pitch for the use of Paul Brown Stadium.
Plan B, given by the county commissioners, is to use parking revenue to build a 1,000-space parking garage for a brand new, soccer-specific stadium. At this time, Oakley appears to be the destination that commissioners and FC Cincinnati are looking at.
Videos of the Press Conference:
FC Cincinnati General Manager Jeff Berding has issued a statement on the County's proposal.
Berding says he appreciates the County Commissions coming to the table with some infrastructure funding. However, he remains firm that Paul Brown Stadium is not an option.
You can read the full statement below:
“We are pleased that the County Commission today acknowledged the importance of winning an MLS bid, and the appropriate role of government to fund project infrastructure. Whether it is on the Banks with building parking garages, supporting the GE Global Operations Center or countless other examples, governments traditionally fund project infrastructure. Here, our ownership will cover the cost of the stadium, and we are asking governments to fund parking garages, streets and road improvements, utilities and the like.
It was good to see the County Commission come to the table, offering non-general fund resources to help cover the necessary infrastructure costs.
At this time, we have not had a single conversation with Hamilton County officials today, despite efforts. We heard their public statements today. The next step is to talk further with the County officials and Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley to see whether, after today’s initial offer to build a parking garage, we can get there on needed infrastructure. Our owners and FC Cincinnati will fund the stadium but will not be funding public infrastructure routinely covered by governments.
Part of the conversation with the Mayor and County will be to ensure the County is clear on needed infrastructure costs. In today’s presentation, the numbers did not add up, but we can clarify in person.
We will happily work decisively this week with Hamilton County to ensure they are fully informed relative to Paul Brown Stadium. As it relates to the need for a soccer specific stadium, the MLS sets its requirements in the best interest of the League. Respectively, they know the business of soccer and the League the best. The financial data that we transparently shared with the County proves to us that Paul Brown Stadium would not support an MLS team, but we are interested to see how they could have come to a different conclusion.
Winning MLS expansion gives us a third pro franchise and promotion in the global game of soccer. With the city’s support, led by Mayor John Cranley, our ownership group is playing to win the bid and not to stand by and see Greater Cincinnati lose out.
I am currently in Houston presenting the Cincinnati region to the US Soccer Federation for the opportunity to win a Host City award for the 2026 World Cup. FC Cincinnati’s success over the last two years is an enormous attraction towards our efforts.
Once I return late tonight, we will be back at it working with elected officials to see if all the public funding is in place to cover public infrastructure to support a privately financed stadium at one of our sites.”