The Major League Soccer expansion arms race appears to be heating up, but that shouldn't come as a surprise.

The group pursuing an MLS expansion spot for Nashville enjoyed a newsy Monday complete with an official announcement that it's progressing toward erecting an all-important soccer-specific stadium and an unofficial declaration that they were actually being awarded an expansion team.

The declaration – an unintentionally misleading tweet that quickly went viral – was later walked back by the author of the tweet and several other relevant and prominent figures.

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Despite the premature, false-alarm declaration about Nashville's place in the expansion race, the two pieces of news out of Nashville grabbed plenty of attention in Cincinnati and elsewhere.

It was a kind of warning shot to fans – a reminder of the fragile and fickle nature of the expansion race.

Futbol Club Cincinnati seemed to steal all the momentum in the expansion race this past summer. Big attendance numbers and a remarkable Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup run put the expansion spotlight squarely on the Queen City.

On Monday, the spotlight shifted about 270 miles south to the Music City.

The spotlight can and will shift again. Other organizations are likely to make waves as MLS nears its December deadline for announcing its expansion entrants.

Those shifts won't necessarily constitute a material change to FC Cincinnati's strong standing in the expansion race, though.

FC Cincinnati President and General Manager Jeff Berding noted in a Tuesday statement that developed stadium plans are required of all the MLS expansion candidates.

“Major League Soccer announced the application requirements last December and one of the key criteria is an approved plan for a soccer-specific stadium, along with other criteria such as a strong local ownership group and a proven market of support for professional soccer,” Berding said in the statement. “Since we submitted our initial application last January, we have worked diligently on a responsible public-private partnership plan to build an MLS stadium and that continues to be our focus. Our soccer experience here in Cincinnati offers a great deal to a growing MLS, but like the other cities who are competing to earn an invitation, we need to solidify our stadium partnership.

“Our ownership group, led by Carl H. Lindner III, has committed $250 million in private funds to bring the MLS to Cincinnati, including $100 million for a new stadium. With the private dollars serving as the foundation of our public-private partnership, we are confident that we can develop a stadium financing plan that will be viable for the MLS, just as Sacramento and it appears now Nashville have done.”

Fans might forget the advanced stage at which FC Cincinnati is at in its stadium pursuits.

FC Cincinnati months ago unveiled its stadium design, and prior to that, The Enquirer reported on the three stadium sites the club proposed to MLS as part of its expansion application.

Since then, the club has waded into the public sphere to continue the stadium debate as it seeks a public-private partnership to keep the stadium on the Cincinnati side of the Ohio River.

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FC Cincinnati's also been shopping the naming rights for its unbuilt stadium – an indicator there's a reasonable amount of confidence a stadium deal can be completed.

The clock is certainly ticking for FC Cincinnati to finalize a partnership in Hamilton County, although Berding told The Enquirer he estimated the team could push its efforts as late as the end of the first week in December.

It's also not "do-or-die" in Hamilton County.

FC Cincinnati has in place a memorandum of understanding for the proposed stadium site in Newport, Kentucky, which, despite some fan objections to having the team on that side of the river, is just hundreds of yards away from Cincinnati.

Berding has called the Newport site "shovel ready."

MLS is expected to make its final decision on expansion at or around MLS Cup. The site for that event will be determined by teams competing in the MLS Cup playoffs.

MLS is also expected in December to outline a timeline for the awarding of the third and fourth expansion cities as only two of four open spots will be awarded this year.

Charlie Hatch contributed to this report.