This could be it: Details of FC Cincinnati stadium plan for West End

Two Cincinnati City Council members unveiled a plan Friday that could clear the way for FC Cincinnati to build a Major League Soccer stadium in the West End, something that seemed almost impossible just a month ago.

And it would even cost city taxpayers less than council had committed to an alternate site.

The deal, presented by Councilmen P.G. Sittenfeld and David Mann, calls for FC Cincinnati to build a $200 million soccer stadium, pay $25 million in property taxes to Cincinnati Public Schools and infuse $100,000 a year for 10 years into the neighborhood.

City and county taxpayers would contribute $48.8 million, vs. $51 million for the Oakley site. Sittenfeld's support gives the West End site five likely votes on council, and the proposal would give the school board most of what it demanded.

If approved, it would finally give FC Cincinnati a site to take to Major League Soccer in the club's bid to win an expansion team.

"I think FC Cincinnati has been a lightning bolt of positive energy for our city," Sittenfeld said. "But frankly, I believe our announcement today is bigger than soccer. It’s about leveraging this opportunity to touch people’s lives in meaningful, positive ways."

Both the West End and Over-the-Rhine community councils oppose the stadium being built in the predominantly black neighborhood that has suffered from past development projects.

The West End, Sittenfeld said, "deserves better than the history it's lived through."

"I promise I take it very seriously," he said. "We have an opportunity to do better – and we will do better."

FC Cincinnati President and General Manager Jeff Berding walked away from the West End in mid-March after he couldn't reach a deal with the schools. He said then that the economics of a stadium there were "impractical."

Late Thursday, though, Berding conceded in a statement that both alternative sites – Oakley and Newport – have their own problems. Oakley isn't close enough to the urban core, and the price was too steep in Newport.

More: Timeline of FC Cincinnati's efforts to pick a stadium site

Timeline of FC Cincinnati's efforts to pick a stadium site More: Would stadium price residents out of the West End?

Berding responded to Sittenfeld's announcement Friday: "I am as hopeful as ever that city leaders will get this done and look forward to working with these leaders and others in the days ahead on this significant economic development opportunity."

Sittenfeld and Mann hope their West End plan is enough to alleviate concerns from neighborhood residents worried about the quality-of-life issues as well as the school board and teachers' association, which were firm that students not be cheated of tax dollars.The school board has scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday. The council vote could also come as soon as next week but has not been scheduled.

Carolyn Jones, CPS board president, said the board worked to be transparent and that Superintendent Laura Mitchell and her administration team are reviewing FC Cincinnati's terms to make sure they meet the board's requirements.

"We were firm from the beginning that we would set a new precedent by making developers pay their fair share of taxes," school board member Ryan Messer said. "In a school district that is growing far above projections every dollar counts in ensuring students have access to a high-quality education."

The club also needs approval from the Greater Cincinnati Redevelopment Authority, which would help secure financing.

West End Community Council President Keith Blake said the promises in the agreement likely won't be enough to turn opponents into supporters.

"It's going to take more than a deal," he said.

Contina Davis, who has lived in the neighborhood 24 years, called it a "sad day" for Cincinnati. "This doesn't guarantee the residents of the West End anything, not one thing."

Details of the proposed West End deal

The costs to the city under the proposal:

$17 million in hotel tax money

$6.3 million from the sale of the Blue Ash airport

$8 million from a Downtown tax financing district

$2.5 million from the city's capital budget

That's $2 million less than taxpayers had been asked to spend on an Oakley stadium and relies more on a tax district, meaning some of the cash from the sale of the Blue Ash Airport can remain in the city's rainy-day fund.

The county would spend $15 million for a garage, just as it agreed to do

The costs to Futbol Club Cincinnati under the proposal:

$25 million to Cincinnati Public Schools, $10 million of which will be paid upfront for the first 10 years. After that, the payment will be made on a year-to-year basis for the following 15 years. The payment is based on stadium valuation that after construction starts at $175 million and then declines in value.

$10 million to build a new Stargel Stadium for CPS

$1 million to the West End, which will be paid at a rate of $100,000 a year for 10 years. The money would go to help Little Senators Youth Sports, Q Kidz Dance, the creation of a West End Athletic Association and an entrepreneurship program run by Mortar.

$200 million to build a 21,000-seat stadium, including $54.4 million for inclusion and $16 million for construction jobs that will pay prevailing wage

$150 million franchise fee to Major League Soccer

The deal provides more for the schools than FC Cincinnati had originally proposed and, according to school district documents, is the equivalent to 25 percent of the total property taxes. That's the percentage most developers pay to schools when getting tax breaks to bring jobs and tax money to the city.

But building in the West End has been contentious, with several groups, including the neighborhood community council, against the idea.

More clarity on stadium site plan

Under the plan, FC Cincinnati will build the stadium along Central Parkway, south of Liberty Street. To do that FC Cincinnati would buy land between John Street and Central Parkway, where Taft High School's Stargel Stadium now sits. It will build the high school a new stadium south of Ezzard Charles Drive on land that had been slated for a Citirama.

The Citirama would be canceled, but Berding bought up 66 parcels of land in and around City West that will be set aside for new housing.

A map of the stadium site shows a buffer between City West and the stadium, which doesn't exist in the current Stargel configuration.

The county's $15 million will be used to build a smaller parking garage adjacent to the stadium, which will also be used by the Cincinnati Police Department. The department will lose a swath of parking spaces under the plan.

3CDC separately is working to develop a parking garage at the CET site, which officials there said will be scaled to the neighborhood's needs.

Council majority hasn't said yes – yet

Only four of nine council members – Sittenfeld, Mann, Christopher Smitherman and Amy Murray – told The Enquirer on Friday that they would approve the deal.

Jeff Pastor has been publicly supportive of a West End stadium, but Friday he stopped short of saying he'd vote for it.

"It would have been courteous for Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld to have contacted members who supported FC Cincinnati," he said. "I need to look at it."

Wendell Young and Tamaya Dennard both said they remain against building a soccer stadium in the West End.

"When we look at the disparities in our city of race and class, we have to remember that it's decisions like these that create and perpetuate inequity," Dennard said.

Greg Landsman said although he supports soccer he doesn't support forcing a stadium on a community that said no.

Chris Seelbach has been against the idea but did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Mayor John Cranley has said he supports the West End stadium site.

Sittenfeld voted no on the earlier plan to build the stadium in Oakley, a deal that would have cost city taxpayers $36 million. This plan, he said, doesn't cheat the school district and calls for a community benefits agreement that's worth at least $1 million.

Voting for it means tens of millions of dollars won't go elsewhere.

"I am glad we have forged a plan for FC Cincinnati to call Cincinnati home," Sittenfeld said.