FC Cincinnati in Clermont County: Is it a good deal?

Sheila Vilvens | Cincinnati Enquirer

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Depending on who you ask, FC Cincinnati's plans to build a practice facility in Clermont County is either a good deal or an example of government giving away the store.

New documents, provided to The Enquirer as part of an open records request, outline details of the deal including the purchase of land for the proposed $30 million practice facility at the former site of Expressway Park in Milford. Once fully operational, the facility is estimated to bring in an additional $6.7 million annually to the county and an additional 50 to 60 jobs.

The City of Milford plans to issue $3.5 million in securities to cover a portion of the $5 million cost for land. The club is responsible for the remaining $1.5 million. The debt will be repaid over 20 years.

To support the repayment of the securities, Milford and the Clermont Convention and Visitors Bureau want the county commissioners to approve an additional 1 percent lodging tax. However, documents show that the revenue generated from the additional tax falls short of the full amount needed by Milford for full debt service.

The 1 percent lodging tax is estimated by the visitors' bureau to bring in nearly $224,000 annually. Debt service, according to documents, is projected to be nearly $270,000. Milford tax-payers will be on the hook for the remaining annual balance of $43,000 to $47,000.

This is just one aspect of the overall deal that the Clermont County Commissioners are expected to review during a special meeting 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14 at the county administration building, 101 E. Main St., Batavia.

At the meeting's core is the additional 1 percent lodging tax, which must be approved by the commissioners. Without the tax, the FCC practice facility might not happen.

Per the deal documents, FCC has also asked the Clermont County Port Authority for various incentives for construction including the issuance of lease revenue bonds. The port authority will lease the land and all facilities to be constructed to FC Cincinnati.

The bonds will be privately purchased by the club, according to the documents, and will not be a general obligation to the port authority or Clermont County.

Good or bad deal?

On Twitter over the weekend, Clermont County transparency advocate Chris Hicks questioned the deal.

In one tweet he called the deal a $23 million giveaway due to associated tax incentives. He also called out a possible tax loss of more than $600,000 a year total for Milford Schools and Great Oaks.

I made a mistake. Schools lose $604k/yr. I forgot to add in the JV school impact. In return for getting out of $604k/yr, FC is paying $50k to schools which is about $10k more than the schools get now. What ROI (for FC). Who negotiates these deals? — Chris Hicks (@HicksWatchdog) August 12, 2018

The Milford Board of Education is expected to vote on an agreement with the team during its meeting 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 16 at Milford High School.

According to terms of the deal, effective calendar year 2020, FC Cincinnati will make $50,000 payments annually to the Milford schools in lieu of taxes plus provide the district with access to the practice facility and coaches.

Milford Schools spokeswoman Meg Krsacok said the district can't determine how much it would have received on the team's property until the auditor assesses the value.

In 2017, the district received more than $32,000 from the two properties purchased for use by FC Cincinnati, she said.

Since the deal's announcement, the visitors' bureau and others have celebrated the soccer team coming to Clermont County as a win.

“This is tremendous news not just for soccer fans, but for the entire Clermont County community,” visitors bureau president Jeff Blom said in a statement. “The FCC training complex will attract visitors who will eat at our restaurants, shop at local businesses, stay at hotels, and visit attractions throughout the county and in other neighboring communities, ultimately generating millions of dollars of economic impact and tax revenue for Milford and all of Clermont County.”