FC Cincinnati, schools $2M apart on tax payments on proposed MLS stadium in West End

Cincinnati Public Schools reacted negatively Monday night to a proposed land-swap deal that would allow FC Cincinnati to build its new stadium in the West End.

As part of the swap – where FC Cincinnati would take over CPS' current Stargel Stadium site but build a replacement stadium for the school – the club offered the school district a starting tax payment of $100,000 a year.

That's more than CPS is currently getting for the property in question. But it's only a fraction of the $2 million or $2.8 million a year the school district calculates it should get if FC Cincinnati builds its proposed $250 million stadium on the Stargel site.

FC Cincinnati's first offer to CPS was $70,000 a year, which the district called "very disappointing."

The second offer didn't go over much better.

"We're committed to a good faith effort on this. This isn't the end of the discussion," said CPS spokeswoman Lauren Worley, after a long debate on the offer during Monday night's school board meeting.

But, "it's a big gap," Worley said. "There's not a magic number, per se, but there's a wide gap between $70,000 and $2.8 million."

FC Cincinnati President and General Manager Jeff Berding has said the club must decide by March 31 which of three sites – West End, Oakley or Newport – it will use for a Major League Soccer stadium if it's awarded an expansion team.

The club has heavily favored the West End, but it needs approval from Cincinnati City Council, Hamilton County commissioners and the school board, so Monday night's reaction could throw a wrench into that plan.

If FC Cincinnati decides the West End is worth it, the school district could end up with more money.

Or, the club could pack up and leave, heading to Newport or Oakley and leave the school district with nothing.

Under the plan revealed Monday evening, FC Cincinnati would give CPS:

$100,000 a year in property taxes during construction.

$250,000 a year in property taxes the next five years, from 2021-2026.

$500,000 a year in property taxes from 2027-2031.

An amount, up to $3.6 million a year, based on team profits, each year beginning in 2032.

In exchange for the tax break, FC Cincinnati would also make a $20 million investment in CPS over the first 10 years. The money would build a new Stargel Stadium for Taft IT High School; pay to add a soccer program at all 29 schools that don't have one; add a grant program for extracurricular activities; and provide free tickets to an MLS game for students in West End schools, Berding said.

"If our stadium site is located in the West End, we are committed to a partnership with CPS where the district and its students, particularly those in the West End, will benefit greatly," Berding said. "FCC will pay substantially more in property taxes than CPS currently receives on the site properties."

The FC Cincinnati debate has been fire-fueled from the get-go. Hundreds of people have swarmed past school board meetings. Some have urged the board to reject a deal, with concerns about protecting Taft High, the gentrification a stadium could bring and the fact that it's always the students who lose when tax breaks are given.

Others have urged the school board to take the deal, saying that some money is better than no money, and the West End is starving for investment.

Michelle Dillingham, with the Cincinnati Educational Justice Coalition, said the club's offer is insulting, particularly the offer of free tickets for students.

"Our kids don't need a ticket to a game," she said. "They need a full-time librarian, counselors to help them apply to college, updated curriculum, and so much more."

Cincinnati Federation of Teachers President Julie Sellers also urged the board to demand full payment. Anything less is unacceptable, she said.

"If they can't afford to pay the taxes, then they can't afford the project," Sellers said. "Somebody has to be able to pay. It should not be on the backs of children."

This is not the first time the school board has grappled with stadium tax issues. The city's two professional sports teams have $1 billion in publicly financed stadiums, but the team owners pay no property taxes. Instead, county taxpayers give $5 million a year to the schools in lieu of property taxes.