CINCINNATI – FC Cincinnati will formally break ground at its West End neighborhood stadium site with a public event at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 18. The West End community and the general public are invited to participate in the landmark event. The event will be staged rain or shine.

Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber will return to the Queen City for the special event, and will be joined by FC Cincinnati managing owner Carl H. Lindner III, FCC President and General Manager Jeff Berding and City of Cincinnati Major John Cranley, among other community and municipal leaders.

The public is invited to participate in this event and should enter the former Stargel Stadium site via the marked entrances off Central Ave., near the rear of Taft High School and West 15th St.

The first 2,000 attendees will be given a commemorative shovel upon entering the site. After a short speaking program – which will include Garber, Lindner, Berding and Cranley, among many others – everyone in attendance will be signaled to conduct the ceremonial groundbreaking together as a community.

The ceremony signifies the start of formal construction at the club’s future MLS stadium location, which is expected to be completed by March 2021 and open with the start of the season.

Gates will open at the site at 3 p.m., with food trucks and local entertainment onsite until the ceremony begins at 4 p.m. Participants and attendees are asked to park in garages close by, and refrain from parking along residential streets in the West End. Nearby garage options include:

Washington Park Garage (entrances on Elm and Race Sts.)

Town Center Garage (1286 Central Ave.)

Click to view enlarged map.

For more information about FC Cincinnati’s West End Stadium – including an opportunity to pre-register for the groundbreaking event – please visit fccincinnati.com/west-end-stadium.

The next time Cincinnati takes the field, it will be as MLS’ 24th team in 2019 when the club debuts in the top professional league in the U.S. and Canada. Season tickets for the 2019 season are now on sale at fccincinnati.com/tickets.

For up-to-the-minute information about FC Cincinnati, visit the team’s official website at fccincinnati.com, or follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FCCincinnati. For more information about FC Cincinnati tickets - including 2019 season tickets - call 513-977-KICK (5425) or visit fccincinnati.com/tickets.