FC Cincinnati submits expansion bid to MLS

In the roughly six weeks since Major League Soccer announced the format of its expansion process, some high-ranking Futbol Club Cincinnati employees took off only on Christmas Day in order to ensure the club’s bid was prepared adequately.

The final product of their work was sets of spiral bound packets crammed with details about Greater Cincinnati and the club, as was required when this process began.

The packets were printed out Monday and hand-delivered to MLS’s New York City headquarters Tuesday around 12:30 p.m., FC Cincinnati President and General Manager Jeff Berding told The Enquirer.

Berding said he put trusted assistant and team operations manager Cody Parsons on a 6:30 a.m. flight to New York City.

Parsons then handed the documents off to Mark Abbott, MLS President and Deputy Commissioner.

In submitting its bid material, FC Cincinnati confirmed its place among 12 groups vying for one of four remaining expansion spots as MLS expands from 20 to 28 teams over the coming years.

“Now, the process is in their control,” Berding told The Enquirer on Tuesday. “They may have follow-up questions and follow-up requests. Maybe there’s a visit. I’m not really sure. We’ll wait and see, but we’re very proud of our bid.

“The one thing I like about Cincinnati that makes us stand out is we’re proven. The MLS does not have to project us as an MLS market because this market was so strong last year... My point being is now let’s go have a great 2017 because as 2017 is happening, the MLS will be evaluating us.”

In a Tuesday night news release, MLS Commissioner Don Garber thanked the participating ownership groups and officials from the regions involved for their support.

MLS stipulated that all bid material be treated as confidential, but some surface-level information exists about the content of FC Cincinnati's bid.

One of the spiral bound packets provided to leagues officials is focused on stadium solutions. That includes a soccer-specific stadium proposal, should the club be told one is necessary, Berding told The Enquirer.

The Enquirer previously reported FC Cincinnati was expected to provide MLS with a list of Greater Cincinnati sites where a new soccer stadium and related facilities could be built.

Berding declined in the Tuesday interview to comment on the soccer-specific stadium aspect of the club's bid.

Berding has maintained confidence in Nippert Stadium, the club's current home at the University of Cincinnati into which ownership is pouring more than $2 million for soccer-specific upgrades this offseason.

The other bid packet features sub-sections titled, “Transaction Team,” “FCC Overview,” “Greater Cincinnati” and “Funding Summary.”

The ongoing expansion application process began in December with 10 groups but has since expanded to 12 in recent days.

An MLS spokesman confirmed around 7 p.m. all 12 groups had successfully submitted their bids.

Get the latest FC Cincinnati news. Download the FC Cincinnati Soccer app on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Expansion isn't new to MLS. Mostly, it's been a slow, steady process throughout the league's history, which began in 1996 with 10 clubs.

MLS finished the 2016 season with 20 clubs.

Along the way, teams have been added and subtracted. Expansion's heated up in recent years, though, and MLS is set to jump to 23 teams for the start of the 2018 season.

New franchises in Atlanta and Minnesota are coming online for their first season of MLS play this spring while a third club – Los Angeles Football Club – will begin play in 2018.

Former international soccer star David Beckham's effort to bring a team to Miami is still considered the most likely candidate for team No. 24, although the drawn out process to build a team in that market could be cut off by the league.

In theory, that turn of events would open up a fifth expansion spot for current applicants.

For now, four remaining spots are definitely vacant. Of those, two are expected to be awarded later this year.

USL reaction

The second-tier United Soccer League, of which FC Cincinnati is currently a part, is supporting the Queen City club's bid for MLS.

“FC Cincinnati is an exemplary member of the USL in its short time frame, and the organization’s single-game and season attendance league records in 2016 speak for themselves," USL President Jake Edwards told The Enquirer in a provided statement. "The fact that FCC has already surpassed its season tickets base for the 2017 USL Regular Season demonstrates how strong the club is within the soccer landscape in Cincinnati, in North America and globally. FC Cincinnati is worthy of being in the discussion among the markets pursuing the possibility of joining Major League Soccer’s expansion, and we fully support Cincinnati’s aspirations, wherever that path may take them.”