West End Community Council to outsiders on FC Cincinnati stadium issue: Back off

The memo was polite.

But the message was clear: Back off outsiders.

The West End Community Council this weekend asked that it serve as the lead voice for the community on all decisions regarding whether or not an FC Cincinnati stadium should be built in the neighborhood.

The memo came not long after community leaders such as State Sen. Cecil Thomas, D-North Avondale, Councilman Wendell Young and former Mayor Dwight Tillery held a press conference in the West End Thursday saying the proposed site near Taft High School and its stadium wasn't FC Cincinnati's for the taking.

Here's the rub: Some of those leaders don't live in the West End.

"We appreciate the interest and desires of organizations and concerned citizens in providing input to the potential FCC stadium and its impact," wrote West End Community Council President Keith Blake in the group's memo. "We respectfully request that West End Community Council and West End Community be allowed to represent the views and desires of our residents."

FC Cincinnati President and General Manager Jeff Berding is scheduled to speak to the community council board Tuesday night and to the full community council later this month. Blake and Berding have already talked several times, and Blake described the pair as having "established a necessary relationship."

FC Cincinnati is hoping to win an expansion Major League Soccer team in the coming weeks. For months, the soccer team has been vetting three sites for a stadium. Under consideration are Oakley, the West End and Newport.

More: Hamilton County commissioners want MLS decision on FC Cincinnati by the end of February

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Oakley was an early frontrunner and has government support, with Cincinnati City Council and Hamilton County Commissioners pledging to pay for $51 million in infrastructure for the stadium. But in recent weeks, the futbol club has taken a renewed interest in the West End.

It has an option to buy land to build homes south of Liberty Street and has approached the Cincinnati Public Schools Board to talk. Berding is set to present a stadium plan to the board at a public meeting Monday night. He has said publicly he is not interested in Taft High School, but Stargel Stadium is among parcels of land under consideration.

Berding has pledged to sign a community benefits agreement. In a statement earlier this week, he said, "FC Cincinnati is in business to make our community better. We want to ensure that if we receive a MLS franchise we move forward with a stadium site where the community is supportive and where we can do the most good. We hope West End residents and community leaders will be open-minded to what a potential FC Cincinnati stadium site in the West End could bring to the community. "

Blake said he understands the concerns others have expressed.

"Given the history of the West End this is an emotional and sensitive issue for many.," he said. "As a Community Council representing the West End, we are aware of the concerns that face residents, schools and businesses and the entire West End Community. Community Engagement is a priority."

In Cincinnati, most neighborhoods have a community council, which guides city decisions. The volunteer groups don't have a final say, but city leaders prioritize what the councils want. And in an election year —like last year — they are must-stops. Berding most certainly knows this.

Berding, along with several community residents and former Mayor Mark Mallory, who lives in the neighborhood and is a club liaison for the neighborhood, spent several hours Saturday knocking on West End doors, talking to residents.

Berding is a former Cincinnati City councilman whose reputation was as a hard-working campaigner who knew the value of door-knocking in communities.

While the team has not outlined a specific stadium site, Berding has said no residents would be moved from their homes, This is important in a neighborhood that was devastated when Lincoln Court and Laurel Homes were torn down, with a promise the residents could return to the redeveloped neighborhood. Only, for most, that never happened, and those who live in the neighborhood remember what happened.

But Berding said he is concerned misinformation is being directed at current residents.

In a Tweet he said, "Learned opponents of @fccincinnati stadium are falsely scaring residents w claims FCC plans to take their home. PATENTLY UNTRUE - & opponents admitted during our walk they know these fear tactics are false. When confronted, said “fear works”. They also took our flyers off doors."

Want to hear more about the stadium proposal?

What: Cincinnati Public Schools Board meeting

When: 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 12

Where: Interactive Learning Center in the Ronan Education Center, 2651 Burnet Ave., Cincinnati.

About: Jeff Berding, president and general manager of FC Cincinnati, will give a presentation about the organization's interest in a West End stadium. The agenda also includes public hearing, during which any member of the public may address the board. Speakers must sign in with the board’s secretary starting at 6 p.m. (Public comments are allotted three minutes.)