Ready. Set. Dig.

Cincinnati City Council approved zoning for FC Cincinnati's Major League Soccer Stadium in the West End Thursday – a measure derailed last Thursday at an emotional city council meeting.

"We're eager to get back to work on the site, as are local contractors, subcontractors and workers," said FC Cincinnati President and General Manager Jeff Berding

The vote will keep the privately funded, $250 million stadium on track. Berding said. Opening is scheduled for March 2021, the start of the team's second Major League Soccer season.

Council hit the pause button on the zoning change last week after issues with stadium neighbors popped up. And that put pouring the stadium's foundation behind schedule. It was a tense week of negotiations with final deals struck hours before the council meeting.

Council passed two measures:

The first was the actual zoning change needed for the stadium, which passed 7-0. (Christopher Smitherman and Chris Seelbach were excused.)

In a separate vote, council promised to give $75,000 in city money to West End restaurant owner Monica Williams, whose business was shuttered to make way for the stadium. Without this deal, some council members wouldn't have voted for the zoning change.

Six of the seven passed a deal to fund the businesswoman's relocation - but not without heated debate.

'Retail is just too risky for tax dollars'

Amy Murray, who was the lone vote against the plan, said she objected to using reserve funds and believed the full burden should have fallen on FC Cincinnati. She did offer to help Williams in any other way she could.

Tamaya Dennard responded that “we cheerfully emptied our reserves for millionaires,” referring to the $8 million from reserves used for public infrastructure in support of the stadium development. The city is providing a total of about $35 million in incentives.

Dennard said the marginalized people in Cincinnati continue to be an “afterthought.”

Mayor John Cranley, a Democrat, sided with Murray, a Republican.

"Retail is just too risky for tax dollars," Cranley said, adding "It’s easy to say its a handout to FC Cincinnati, but that doesn’t make it true.”

The mayor pointed out that all the money the city pledged to support the project was going toward public infrastructure.

Councilman Greg Landsman, who spearheaded the deal between FC Cincinnati and restaurant owner Monica Williams, said he thought this plan was solid.

“What I watched over the course of the last few days…was exactly what I had hoped to see," Landsman said, "Folks working together."

Under terms of the deal with Williams, the Greater Cincinnati Redevelopment Authority will help Williams secure a food truck and spot to park it in the West End and work until a permanent space can be found.

To do that the city is setting aside $75,000 and FC Cincinnati $150,000 to help with that on top of another $20,000 FC Cincinnati already gave William

A last-minute deal with the ballet

With just hours to go before its pivotal vote, The Cincinnati Ballet announced they had separately reached a deal with FC Cincinnati. This too was important in garnering some council member votes for the zoning change.

FC Cincinnati signed an agreement of cooperation and support with the Cincinnati Ballet.

The ballet, which sits on land owned by the team and whose parking lot is slated for part of the development, wanted assurances about parking, noise and assess to its building.

P.G. Sittenfeld, who help facilitate the plan, called it a "good neighbor" agreement.

It calls for a noise study and $500,000 in noise mitigation funds from the team, and it addresses some concerns about parking and street closures. It also calls for the team to pay another $500,000 to help relocate the ballet when the time comes, but the details of where and when that relocation will happen are not spelled out.

"This is the next step to being a good neighbor," Sittenfeld said, "not the end of it."

The stadium is already behind schedule, costing it a half million dollars and construction officials fretted any further delays could push back the planned 2021 opening.

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