Patrick Brennan

pbrennan@enquirer.com

Futbol Club Cincinnati fans should plan on being at Woodward Theater on Nov. 29 if they want to make an impression on the commissioner of Major League Soccer.

FC Cincinnati announced Friday the town hall-style portion of MLS Commissioner Don Garber's Nov. 29 visit to the Queen City will be held at Woodward Theater.

The Over-the-Rhine venue at 1404 Main St. can accommodate about 600. Any resulting overflow will be accommodated with a livestream of the event that will be broadcast at nearby MOTR Pub (1345 Main St.), Rhinehaus (119 E. 12th St.) and Mr. Pitiful’s (1323 Main St.), according to a Friday news release.

The town hall is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. It will follow a day's worth of Cincinnati activities for Garber, who will meet with FC Cincinnati majority owner Carl Lindner III, local political leaders including Mayor John Cranley and University of Cincinnati Athletic Director Mike Bohn.

“We are excited to have MLS Commissioner Don Garber visit Cincinnati,” FC Cincinnati President and General Manager Jeff Berding said in an email. “We thank the Woodward Theater for partnering with us to host the town hall. The people at Woodward have taken great care to preserve the historic theater and it will be a great venue to show the Commissioner the revitalization that is occurring in our city.”

USL expands, 'just got a lot more competitive'

The timing of Garber's visit appears to be increasingly advantageous for Cincinnati. The club's stock has continued to rise this offseason.

Joe Prince-Wright of NBC Sports went as far as to say in a Friday article that FC Cincinnati, along with fellow United Soccer League franchise Sacramento Republic FC, has been "tabbed to become MLS’ next expansion franchises."

Some might debate Prince-Wright's assertion, but there's no question the idea of Cincinnati as a leader in the race for MLS expansion in an idea that's gaining momentum.