Jason Williams

jwilliams@enquirer.com

Nippert Stadium is scheduled for another makeover this year, and the latest overhaul is designed to make Cincinnati and its upstart soccer franchise more attractive to the top league in American professional soccer.

Futbol Club Cincinnati plans to permanently remove a "minimum number of rows and lower level seats" around the University of Cincinnati's horseshoe-shaped football stadium in order to widen the playing field, according to the club's contract with UC, obtained this week by The Enquirer.

It does not appear the renovation will have any impact on UC's prospects of joining the Big 12 Conference. The capacity of the 40,000-seat stadium is not expected to be reduced, UC officials said.

The overhaul, however, could have a big impact for FC Cincinnati and the city. A bigger field would bring Nippert Stadium up to Major League Soccer playing regulations and allow UC to host popular U.S. national team qualifying matches and exhibition games for some of the world's top soccer clubs.

Luring such matches "helps put Cincinnati on the map as a top soccer city in the United States," FC Cincinnati President Jeff Berding said.

And a higher regional soccer profile could help further FC Cincinnati's MLS dreams.

"We want Cincinnati to be recognized as a pro soccer market," Berding said. "We believe if we focus on those goals, the future will take care of itself. But we're not getting ahead of ourselves at this point."

FC Cincinnati and UC still are working out final details of the renovation. Neither Berding nor the contract disclosed the cost, but the agreement does say the soccer club will pay for the work. The renovation is scheduled to start following UC's football season and will be finished before or soon after the start of FC Cincinnati's season next spring, the contract says.

UC Athletic Director Mike Bohn was not available for comment.

FC Cincy contact with MLS commissioner 'introductory'

MLS is no guarantee for FC Cincinnati. But the first-year franchise is aggressively trying to position itself for future expansion – and FC Cincinnati has caught the attention of MLS's top executive. Stadiums are a key part of expansion, and Nippert Stadium could provide FC Cincinnati a quicker route to MLS rather than trying to convince taxpayers to foot the bill for a new stadium.

The MLS prefers to play in venues smaller than NFL stadiums and wants clubs to have viable luxury suites and club seating. Nippert Stadium appears to at least fit some of MLS's criteria, with plenty of state-of-the-art luxury boxes, party decks and club seating after an $86 million renovation was completed last year.

The upcoming renovation calls for expanding the field to 115 yards long and 75 yards wide. Nippert's soccer field currently is 110 yards long and 70 yards wide. FC Cincinnati had to receive special permission from the United Soccer League to play on Nippert's "off-center" field, according to the contract.

FC Cincinnati has made a big splash in the soccer world through the first month of the United Soccer League season. The club set a USL attendance record of 20,497 in just its second home game at Nippert Stadium on April 16. Some of the team's spectacular plays have made highlight reels on ESPN, which typically doesn't give much air time to lower-level professional leagues.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber told reporters last week in New York that Cincinnati was on a priority list of city's being considered for expansion. However, he said he told FC Cincinnati owner Carl Lindner III in a phone conversation that "just two good weekends doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to have a sustainable fan base."

MLS expansion for FC Cincy could hinge on new stadium

FC Cincinnati paid for new turf and a locker room renovation at Nippert Stadium before this season. The club's contract calls for it to pay UC $5,000 per game and an additional $20,000 for the season to use the stadium, locker room, weight room and other athletic facilities for practices and game preparation.

Previously, there had been buzz about the possibility of FC Cincinnati paying for a new scoreboard and sound system at Nippert Stadium. But that is not part of the contract.

The deal runs through 2018, but can be renegotiated if FC Cincinnati joins MLS before then.

For UC, the renovation would appear to have no impact on Bearcats football and the university's chances of getting into the Big 12 Conference. The stadium capacity is not supposed to be reduced, UC officials said, despite the possibility of the first two rows of seats being removed as part of the overhaul.

UC currently does not sell football tickets for first-row seats in order to allow for extra spacing between the team benches and fans along the narrow sidelines. Those also are obstructed-view seats because they are at field level, and many seats are behind the football teams' benches.

"The views will be enhanced for all patrons because they’ll have a little height to see over the players on the sidelines," Berding said.

New field-level seating areas are expected to be opened up in the south end zone. The stands currently curve horseshoe-style around that end zone, but tentative plans call for a squared-off design. The short, brick wall currently separating the stands from the field would be rebuilt.

The Big 12 could make a decision on expansion in June, and UC is believed to be a front-runner to join one of the Power 5 football conferences.

Nippert Stadium currently is smaller than all other Big 12 stadiums, and UC President Santa Ono told The Enquirer in February the university would consider adding another deck on the stadium's east side if the Bearcats join the new league. He mentioned an expansion could increase capacity to between 50,000 and 55,000.