Patrick Brennan, and Bowdeya Tweh

Cincinnati

Ask Jeff Berding, and he'll tell you he expected success all along for the roughly 10-month-old Futbol Club Cincinnati franchise of which he's president and general manager.

And yet, as he prepares to host an Enquirer reporter for a sit-down interview in his sports memento-adorned, third-floor office in Downtown, Berding confers with one of his top lieutenants in the team's ticket sales department on an urgent matter.

It's June 3, the eve of the team's sixth United Soccer League home match, and they're drafting up an informational leaflet to help cope with unexpectedly long ticketing lines — a problem that's persisted since Cincinnati's first-ever home game April 9. The issue was exacerbated when the club broke the league's single-game attendance record a week later, as well as May 14 when it drew 23,375 and re-broke the record.

"To be fair, we didn’t anticipate it would take hold to the degree that it has as quickly as it has," Berding conceded once the interview began.

High demand for tickets and processing them expediently at entrance gates are good problems to have, to be sure. FC Cincinnati has worked through a couple others like those in its short history. These are organizational growing pains, and they're emblematic of the Queen City's vast appetite for soccer, and FC Cincinnati.

In mere months, Cincinnati took its new team in the third-tier league of American soccer and hoisted it onto the national stage. Now, the city's abuzz over its team and the possibility of a future in Major League Soccer, America's version of the big leagues for the world's game.

Berding, principal owner Carl Lindner III and their team have finessed a record-breaking response from the region. They didn't invent the Queen City's passion for "the Beautiful Game," but they've effectively harnessed it in a variety of ways.

Millennials, 'streetcar kind of people' wanted

FC Cincinnati has a diverse fan base, but millennials in particular have emerged to carry the club's flag, literally and figuratively. The melding of Berding's professional experiences, including a stay on Cincinnati City Council (2005-2011) and in the Cincinnati Bengals’ front office, led him to target the millennial demographic.

One of Berding's hallmarks as a council member was his ties to the local business community, which is crowded with Fortune 500 companies recruiting millennials. With the Bengals, Berding came to appreciate the broader, U.S. sporting landscape and soccer's recent surge in popularity. As a result of his background in sports and his business-friendly political philosophy, Berding said he knew millennials could buy into FC Cincinnati, and they did — tickets, merchandise et al. Many fans agree FC Cincinnati acts as an outlet for intense civic pride felt by local 20 and 30-somethings.

The most visible manifestation of FC Cincinnati's success on the millennial front can be seen in Nippert Stadium's north end where "The Bailey" supporters section rocks all game long. Fans there — Berding calls them the "maestros of Nippert" — stand, sing, chant, wave flags and pound large drums throughout the 90-minute contests. The club's strongest supporters' groups, "The Pride" and "Die Innenstadt" (German for "the inner city"), help populate the section.

Millennials “have a desire to live in a thriving, progressive city, and soccer is a part of, in their minds, what a progressive city looks like and feels like,” Berding said. "For many of them, it's sort of what the streetcar symbolizes. You can be for or against the streetcar personally, but I think you at least have to acknowledge people we're trying to recruit to Cincinnati are the streetcar-kind of people ... I felt strongly that all the market data we had done that soccer had the opportunity to be very important."

Cincy soccer culture: A sleeping giant

FC Cincinnati is capitalizing on a deep-rooted youth soccer community that existed long before the organization was born, and is 50,000 players strong, according to Berding. Hylton Dayes knows of the talent-rich youth soccer ranks better than most. As head coach of University of Cincinnati men's soccer team for 15 years, Dayes has combed the country for top playing talent. Greater Cincinnati is always a priority in recruiting, Dayes told The Enquirer.

"It goes in cycles, but in a good year when you can get the best (local) players, you have the potential to be a top 25 program," said Dayes, a winner of more than 100 games at UC.

FC Cincinnati has courted that vibrant local youth soccer community via a giveback program, which reinvests revenue from ticket sales into local soccer organizations that purchase tickets themselves. Earlier in the season, youth soccer players that arrived in uniform could enter Nippert Stadium for just a dollar.

"The reality is a lot of kids play, and now people outside the city, the state are saying, 'you know what, there's a lot of soccer fans here,'" Dayes said. "FC Cincinnati has awakened a sleeping giant. There is a soccer movement underway in this city, and for a long time, it was kind of under the radar. What it says is there's a soccer community here in Cincinnati that is alive and well and that is certainly continuing to grow."

Sponsors, corporate partnerships

It’s hard to overstate the importance of FC Cincinnati’s ability to land big-time sponsors as being critical to its early success.

Imagine this: A team that didn’t exist a year ago and is now playing in a third-tier soccer league has landed sponsorships deals with five U.S. Fortune 500 companies – Kroger, U.S. Bank, Pepsi, BB&T and Western & Southern Financial Group. Now, courting these companies helps when the team’s CEO, Carl Lindner III, is the co-leader of Fortune 500 company American Financial Group.

Either way, it provides stability for a team with big aspirations in a city where lower-level teams have come and gone.

Lindner, who was unavailable for comment on this story, is one of nine owners of FC Cincinnati.

Andrew Hawking, president of BB&T’s Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati region, said in some ways, it was easy to buy into the vision from FC Cincinnati leadership because of their depth of business experience. Hawking said when Berding and other FC Cincinnati leaders approached the company, they gave the bank an opportunity to think creatively about sponsorship. In the end, BB&T signed a three-year deal to serve as the official sponsor of game ball managers. The bank will also have the opportunity to host a youth soccer camp at least once a year featuring FCC players.

So when a ball goes out of the bounds, it’s likely the person who’s retrieving it is wearing BB&T gear. That allows the bank to make multiple impressions on viewers in the stadium or those watching on television and online.

Hawking said being affiliated with BB&T provided an opportunity to be matched with a brand that speaks to the bank’s aspirations.

“We really liked the model and again, when you make these investments just like loans, you get paid to analyze the risks (and) rewards,” Hawking said. “Clearly this one had all the right elements and it was an easy decision for us at the end of the day.”

Patty Leesemann, a spokeswoman with Cincinnati-based Kroger, said partnering with FC Cincinnati made perfect sense. Kroger’s sponsorship of the “Family of the Match” honors families who have a strong commitment to their children’s active lifestyles. The grocery store giant also promotes ticket giveaways on its Facebook page and takes nominations for the family of the match at www.fccincinnati.com/kroger-family-of-the-match. Winners receive flowers and a Kroger gift card.

Last fall, UC Health was introduced as FC Cincinnati’s official presenting sponsor and official health care provider. The health system’s deal runs through 2018.

Chris Ralston, vice president of marketing at UC Health, said the partnership is a natural one because of its affiliation with the University of Cincinnati.

“As the region’s only academic health system, UC Health sees great value in partnering with organizations—like FC Cincinnati—that promote wellness and healthy activity and bring energy and economic value to our surrounding community,” Ralston said in a statement. “The enthusiasm around FC Cincinnati has been tremendous. We look forward to our continued partnership.”

Mason-based Cintas Corp. signed up to be a sponsor for two years in February even though it hadn’t previously served as a soccer team sponsor.

Cintas’ agreement allows its logo to be displayed on two team vans, provides for stadium announcements, digital marquee signage, and season tickets, a magnet with the 2016 season schedule and Nippert stadium ushers wear Cintas uniforms and jackets, said company spokeswoman Michelle Goret.

Cintas will also be among the companies honored at the June 18 match for Sponsor Salute Night.

“We think it’s too early to determine the economic impact of our sponsorship; however, anecdotally, our sponsorship has been very popular with our local employees and customers,” Goret said in a statement. “Cintas is committed to being a good corporate citizen in the communities in which do business. Our sponsorship of FC Cincinnati dovetails with that commitment and we are thrilled to be a part of this in our hometown.”

TV exposure for FC Cincinnati

Many USL matches can only be viewed on YouTube streams, but FC Cincinnati is footing the bill to make its home matches available on local TV in order to increase consumer access.

In its TV contract with Sinclair Broadcasting Group, FC Cincinnati is fronting costs for broadcast time, on-air production and talent. The team pockets the advertising revenue from the telecasts, but some of the ad space remains unsold, Berding said.

"That was an investment. That was not a deal that we did because we're going to make money," Berding said. "I think we're benefiting probably a great deal that people are seeing our matches on TV and they see people having a great time."

FC Cincinnati is also an accessible product at the box office, where prices are relatively cheap. A season ticket for non-University of Cincinnati students went for as little as $120 before the season started. Tickets for FC Cincinnati's "friendly" exhibition match next month against Crystal Palace of the English Premier League go for as little as $10.

Fresh promotions help keep turnstiles rotating, too. The May 14 "Orange Out" that channeled the regional sports rivalry with Pittsburgh inspired future game themes, including a July 23 "Sea of Blue" and a Labor Day "White Out."

National, MLS respect

Fox Sports soccer analyst Alexi Lalas, who said he knew little about FC Cincinnati as recently as mid-February, says the team is making waves nationally.

"When those types of numbers come in, relative to other games going on and relative to other levels and leagues that are going on, it demands you take notice," Lalas said. "So, you combine that with a high-profile coach, one that has had a long history as a name – that makes people pay attention."

FC Cincinnati will surpass the 100,000 mark in attendance for the season in its seventh league home game Saturday against FC Montreal. The team's average home crowds (16,203 prior to the Montreal game) dwarf that of multiple MLS teams. Weather has worked against Cincinnati for the majority of its home slate, too.

In a matter of months, FC Cincinnati went from being virtually unmentioned in U.S. soccer media circles to a sensation mentioned in the same breath as future MLS cities like Sacramento and St. Louis. Pundits started chiming in on the success of the first-year organization, and the attendance feats brought praise from the MLS league office.

FC Cincinnati maintains a modest approach in its quest for MLS — "we're not a bull in a china shop," Berding said — but there's no denying the attendance figures helped vault the team into the expansion conversation in MLS, which is building toward an eventual 28-team league. The MLS has 20 teams.



Modesty might be the best approach. Not everyone is sold on FC Cincinnati's MLS potential yet.

Steven Goff, a national soccer writer for the Washington Post, said the team needs to show a couple years' worth of sustained success before it can be counted as MLS-worthy.

"I think it's still a little bit early to render a verdict on Cincinnati," Goff said, "but I still think it's a good sign — it's a great sign — what they're doing."

John Harkes: FC Cincy's Jim Carrey

Part of the draw of sports is the personalities contained within. There are few personalities bigger in soccer than John Harkes, the FC Cincinnati head coach.

Harkes is a walking, talking piece of American soccer history. He's one of the first and best to ply his soccer skills in England for a prolonged period and was formerly captain of the U.S. senior men's national team during one of its most successful periods in the mid 1990s. Recently, he's recounted his role in some of U.S. soccer's biggest moments to The Enquirer and The Players' Tribune.

FC Cincinnati's head man has also endeared himself to supporters through post-game trips to local soccer pubs, frequent public appearances and candid interviews. Call it the "Harkes effect."

Goff, who covered Harkes throughout his career, described the FC Cincinnati's coach as a "Jim Carrey-type of character."

He's the kind of guy you want to be around, Goff said and is easy to root for. He also does a wicked impression of former U.S. men's national team coach and current LA Galaxy manager Bruce Arena.

"Big personality. Always a lively character with the national team and DC United," Goff said. "Always embodied American soccer in terms of his New Jersey-Scottish roots."

It's taken Harkes a while to get this point as a head coach (he was slated to coach an NASL team in Virginia before it went belly-up before its launch). Now, he's turning heads at FC Cincinnati.

In defiance of the typically low expectations for expansion teams, Harkes has assembled a squad that's competing with presumptive front-runners near the top of the United Soccer League's Eastern Conference. Entering the Montreal match, Harkes' team is 6-2-3 in USL play. He also helped lead the club's to its first trophy with three upset wins in a preseason tournament at the IMG Academy Suncoast Pro Classic in Bradenton, Florida.

'Don't underestimate Cincinnati'

Off the field, new cubicles were recently erected in the team's office in anticipation of five new hires for FC Cincinnati's ticket sales department.

On the field, Berding said he's focused solely on the USL's Eastern Conference now that Cincinnati is out of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. His sights appear set on matching up with conference-leading Louisville City FC.

"Louisville beat us in our home stadium. They went to the Eastern Conference finals last year. They're in first place. We view them as the team to beat. They've earned that," Berding said.

The team's already sold more than 16,000 tickets for the Crystal Palace friendly. If attendance numbers continue to climb, it could prompt FC Cincinnati to make a play to host a future U.S. national team match.

"If we have the great attendance expected for the Palace match, it further bolsters our case to bring a national team to Cincinnati," Berding said in an email.

And on the MLS front, FC Cincinnati's courting of the league is ongoing. Berding said the club has invited league executives to watch a game at Nippert Stadium.

"There is interest in making that happen," Berding said in the email. "No arrangements are currently in the works."

Berding doesn't see a reason to celebrate yet. People surprised by what's happening here don't understand Cincinnati, he added.

"I think people who want to underestimate Cincinnati usually realize the fallacy," Berding said. "Don't underestimate Cincinnati. We're a pretty proud city. ... People that underestimate us tend to be proven wrong."