( Cincinnati ) - Now it's just up to MLS.
Last week, Cincinnati Public Schools agreed to a land swap deal for FC Cincinnati to build a soccer stadium in the West End. And on Monday, following a lengthy period of public comment, City Council voted 5-4 on a nearly $35 million package to support infrastructure around that soccer stadium.
The deal was brokered by City Councilman PG Sittenfeld earlier this month. He spoke prior to Monday's vote in a special session of council, saying "the West End deserves better than it's had. I think that better future can be married with this deal."
Other members of council were not as enthusiastic. Wendell Young said he feels that the people of the West End have made it clear that they don't want the stadium to be build in their neighborhood, and he plans on standing with them. That period of public comment during a Budget and Finance committee meeting prior to the council session had the majority of people saying that they didn't want the stadium built in the West End.
When it came time to vote, David Mann, Amy Murray, Jeff Pastor, PG Sittenfeld, and Chris Smitherman all said "yes," with Tamaya Dennard, Greg Landsman, Chris Seelbach, and Wendell Young voting "no."
All of these newly agreed upon deals are contingent upon FC Cincinnati being offered a Major League Soccer franchise. There could be news on that coming later this week.