FC Cincinnati: We're not asking voters to build a stadium

Carl H. Lindner III | Cincinnati Enquirer

Carl H. Lindner III is the owner and CEO of FC Cincinnati.

I thank God and the citizens and leaders of Greater Cincinnati for the blessing of living, raising our family and working in this special place we call home. For generations, our family has consistently partnered with others to make our beloved Cincinnati better for the next generation. Over the years, my family and I have enjoyed sharing God’s gifts by strategically working with and donating to schools, universities, hospitals and other not-for-profit charities, and by bringing businesses and jobs to Cincinnati.

Last year, my family and I were blessed with the opportunity to start a new professional soccer team in Cincinnati. Soccer is the top sport in the world and is clearly catching on in the United States. Our business partners collaborated to give Cincinnati a team of our own and the community has embraced us at an unprecedented level for a start-up pro team.

FC Cincinnati eyeing three stadium sites FC Cincinnati is looking at three possible sites to build a stadium as part of its bid for Major League Soccer expansion.

Cincinnati is experiencing an exciting revitalization. Downtown, Over-the-Rhine and neighboring areas are all experiencing tremendous growth. Companies are choosing to locate operations in the Queen City, bringing talented people from around the world to work, live and play here. I am proud that our new professional soccer team, FC Cincinnati, is a part of the renaissance that is occurring here.

Now we have a chance to move up from a lower division league to Major League Soccer (MLS), the top level in the United States. I am proud that Cincinnati is a major league community. Having a team at the highest level of competition helps put Cincinnati on the map as one of the rising cities in the United States. Other cities experiencing a rebirth in the new-innovation economy are leveraging the passion for soccer as a beacon for international business investment and population growth. We believe that competitive edge should be part of our region’s future, too. We would like to see our city receive the capital investment and the prestige of the MLS over the eleven other cities we are competing with for an MLS bid.

As Cincinnati broadens its footprint, we believe the growth of our city and the growth of our sport are linked. With an eye toward promoting Cincinnati globally, my family and I, along with a great ownership group, have committed $250 million to bring MLS to Cincinnati. MLS matches are broadcast in 170 countries worldwide; more than 60 countries are represented in MLS and we feel soccer will be a great mechanism to further promote Cincinnati to the global community.

A soccer-specific stadium will be required for Cincinnati to win a Major League Soccer franchise. We are seeking to engage with the city and county in the way they routinely do in assisting companies looking to establish themselves here. In all of our years of bringing companies and jobs to Cincinnati, our family has done so without tax abatements or incentives. However, the scale of this project, with $250 million in private dollars already committed, require us to pursue a model partnership that citizens can feel good about as they evaluate a prospective deal, particularly given the potential economic impact.

We are NOT asking the voters to build FC Cincinnati its stadium. Our FC Cincinnati ownership group is committed to spending at least $100 million (which represents over 50% of the cost) on the stadium ourselves. Moreover, we will leverage our private dollars to ensure the new soccer stadium is a community asset that can host high school and college games, international and national matches and concerts. Our vision also includes helping to create a dramatic transformation in one of our community’s neighborhoods. What happened on the riverfront over 20 years ago was a response to a different challenge, one that the community does not face here. So claims that we want a riverfront-sized deal, or want a nearly 100 percent, publicly-financed stadium, are simply incorrect.

We want to be part of the surge of popularity surrounding soccer and the benefits it will bring to our great city. With that in mind, our goal is to finalize our plans by the end of the summer, enabling us to continue to put our best foot forward with regard to our MLS application. We appreciate your patience and will share those details as they are solidified. Until then, we will continue to build a franchise you can be proud of and a team focused on giving back and investing in the future of our community.

My family has always had Cincinnati and our people at the forefront of all we do. We see our MLS ambition as consistent with those values. Thank you for your support.