( Cincinanti, OH ) - As the deadline for Major League Soccer expansion draws near, Hamilton County Commissioners still want to talk to MLS about Paul Brown Stadium being the new home for FC Cincinnati. However, a conference call with leaders from the team, Hamilton County and MLS has been postponed to early next week, after the County could not get eveyone they wanted on the phone Friday.
FCC President Jeff Berding released a statement saying they hope to have that conversation as soon as possible:
"In order to satisfy the County's need to fully vet Paul Brown Stadium as a prospective home for FC Cincinnati, we made plans today to arrange a call that included principals from FC Cincinnati, Hamilton County and Major League Soccer. MLS officials made themselves available to participate on the call today.
However, recently we learned from Commission President Todd Portune that the full contingent of county officials desired cannot make this meeting happen today. They have requested the call take place early next week. We will do our best to work with MLS to meet this new meeting request. As time is of the essence, we are disappointed that the call will not happen today."
While the County's "Plan A" is on hold until that conference call takes place, Berding is still confident in "Plan B". He says the club has had productive conversations with County leaders over the last two days about their proposed privately funded soccer stadium in Oakley.
The project in Oakley has the full backing of Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley. On Friday, he unveiled his proposal to cover the city's portion of the infrastructure costs for the project. Which includes:
- $9.75 million from the existing Oakley TIF.
- $7.3 million from the sale from the Blue Ash airport.
- Up to $1.5 million from the city's portion of the hotel tax. That would be allocated over 30 years, totaling a $20 million loan for the project.
The commitment of roughly $37 million does come with a few contingencies:
- FC Cincinnati has to win an MLS bid.
- Cincinnati City Council has to approve the funding.
- Hamilton County has to approve the use of the hotel tax dollars.
- Hamilton County has to uphold their promise of $15 million for a parking garage in Oakley (If they cannot sell MLS on PBS).
Jeff Berding later released another statement, thanking the Mayor:
"We thank Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley for his strong leadership in stepping up with a major commitment for funding infrastructure necessary to support our $350 million in private investment to bring Major League Soccer to Cincinnati. We hope that Hamilton County will get us over the finish line.
Our team and our owners are ready to finance a new soccer specific stadium. We are offering a model that the public can embrace where government is capitalizing on a significant private investment to better our region. The support for public infrastructure is not unique and no different than what would be necessary for any other development in Oakley.
We look forward to continuing discussions with City Council Members as a part of the public process, and hope that we can count on their support. We have had productive conversations with County leaders over the last two days, and will continue such work over the weekend and into next week as we near our MLS Expansion deadline. It is Cincinnati’s bid to lose."