Tuesday is 'judgment day' for FC Cincinnati's MLS bid, as city prepares to act on proposal

Floating deadlines and crunched timetables have plagued FC Cincinnati's 17-month quest to find a stadium site and secure a Major League franchise. It seems both of those goals could crash together early next week.

A special session of Cincinnati City Council was called for Monday at 4 p.m. for a vote on the $33.8 million for roads and other infrastructure for the 21,000-seat stadium and to approve a set of promises from the team.

Why Monday? Why the special session? City Council normally meets on Wednesday. Could the vote not wait two days? Apparently not.

P.G. Sittenfeld, who proposed city's plan to help build a $212.5 million West End stadium with David Mann, said Tuesday could be the last day for FC Cincinnati to secure an MLS franchise during this round of expansion.

"Tuesday's meeting of the MLS Board of Governors is really judgment day for whether or not Cincinnati gets awarded a franchise as part of this expansion round," Sittenfeld said Friday.

More: Timeline of FC Cincinnati's lurching 17-month quest for stadium

More: Council will vote on West End FC Cincinnati stadium Monday. Could MLS award team Tuesday?

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The league declined to comment Tuesday’s meeting other than to say that expansion is on the agenda.

MLS is in the process of expanding to 28 franchises. The league has 23 active franchises and has picked two more – Miami and Nashville – to begin to play in 2020. One more city will win a franchise to start play that year.

Cincinnati, Sacramento and Detroit in the race for the last franchise. Detailed information about the expansion process has been hard to come by. The most MLS has said about any of the three finalist cities was a February statement that didn’t rule out anyone – and said the league had made the most progress in Cincinnati.

Over its first two seasons in existence, FC Cincinnati generated a wealth of momentum and international attention around record-breaking crowds and TV appearances. This was especially true during the 2017 U.S. Open Cup, which FC Cincinnati used as a proving ground on the field and in its front office.

Underscoring the belief that it's now or never for FC Cincinnati to win an MLS franchise is the robust competition expected for the next round of the league's expansion, for which no date has been set. Cities such as Phoenix, San Diego and other markets long-discussed as possible destinations for the league are likely to present formidable opposition.

Meanwhile, Monday's City Council vote is not a sure thing.

Four of the nine council members publicly oppose the plan: Tamaya Dennard, Chris Seelbach, Wendell Young and Greg Landsman.

Among their concerns: West End residents' opposition to the project and the millions in public money being dedicated to infrastructure for the project.

Amy Murray, Mann and Sittenfeld all support the legislation. Vice Mayor Christopher Smitherman has remained silent.

Councilman Jeff Pastor said he would not support the deal without a community benefits agreement (CBA) in writing or unless there were "extraordinary circumstances" requiring a vote. As of Friday, the councilman's office reported it had not received any agreement.

It's not clear if the MLS meeting falls under the category of "extraordinary" for Pastor.

Late Friday, an updated version of the legislation was released with three new conditions. No city money will be distributed to FC Cincinnati before a CBA is signed. The CBA must also be approved by City Council, and the Over-the-Rhine Community Council must be included in the CBA along with West End.

Sittenfeld acknowledged the process has not been smooth. City Council voted on a deal to put a stadium in Oakley in November. MLS was supposed to name two expansion teams before the end of 2017 but only picked Nashville.

"I share the frustration of many with what's felt like a herky-jerky process, but we've now reached a real deadline and a binary choice between seizing the opportunity or letting opportunity pass us by," Sittenfeld said. "I hope on Monday we decide to seize it."