Supporters: Build FC Cincinnati stadium here

Chris White | Cincinnati Enquirer

Chris White is the vice president of The Pride Supporters Group, one of several FC Cincinnati support groups that have joined together to advocate for the building of a soccer stadium in Cincinnati.

There are few words that can properly describe Wednesday night’s FC Cincinnati game against Columbus Crew SC. Exhilarating, memorable, and impressive come to mind, but for a USL team to go eye-to-eye with a Major League Soccer team full of starters and international stars and come out victorious was simply amazing.

In our minds, a win like that in front of our home crowd proves that FC Cincinnati has the talent to compete on a bigger stage and be successful. Yes, the win was awesome, but that’s not what impacted us the most. Standing amidst the songs, the smoke bombs, and the banners with over 30,000 fans brought chills and goose bumps. The groundswell of support for FC Cincinnati has been meteoric, and this growth shows no signs of stopping.

As we all reveled in our victory after the game, told stories of our experiences at the match, and the incredible scenes we just witnessed, we began to think about the club’s future. With beers in hand, the discussion turned to Cincinnati’s bid to join MLS and the new stadium that would be needed to accomplish that goal. There have been several articles and news stories out there recently about how the stadium could be built, how much it would cost, etc. As Cincinnati usually does, we knew our city faces an uphill battle. Despite all the amazing success it has had so far, there are still challenges to be faced, and one of them is keeping FC Cincinnati in Cincinnati.

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Look, we all have a blast going to the games and getting a little rowdy cheering on our home team, but this is bigger than the club. This is about our community, this is about Cincinnati, and bringing the beautiful game at its highest level to the Queen City. Much of what makes soccer special is the diehard support that doesn’t just originate from the team itself, but from a love of your city, our city, Cincinnati.

We know that we cannot speak for everyone in our supporters groups, but we feel the need to express our personal opinions as leaders of these groups. With that said, we call on all of you, fans of FC Cincinnati, and the city, in general, to push that we build the stadium here in Cincinnati. There’s going to be a lot of talk in the coming months about cost and logistics, but we’re here to say that it’s incredibly important for our leaders to find a solution. Let’s build it here!

Payne Rankin, president of The Pride Supporters Group

Ryan Lammi, president of Die Innenstadt Supporters Group

Drew Uetrecht, president of The Legion Supporters Group

Colin Hill, co-founder of The Bailey Bastards

Chris White, vice president of The Pride Supporters Group

Chris Fox Gibson, co-founder of The Knights of The Bailey/Council Member of The Bailey Bastards

Jonathan Schoepf, membership coordinator for The Legion Supporters Group

Abagayle Witzgall, membership coordinator for The Pride Supporters Group

Zach McClurg, chief matchday officer of The Pride Supporters Group

Mark Szwejkowski, treasurer for The Pride Supporters Group

Raymond Maxwell Ellerbe, co-founder of The Knights of The Bailey

Kevin Wallace, content creator for The Pride Supporters Group