County says no tax dollars to support FC Cincy stadium; club sees harm to MLS bid

FC Cincinnati won't get taxpayer help for roads, pipes and a parking garage needed to support a new stadium in Hamilton County, under a plan unveiled Wednesday.

County commissioners rejected FC Cincinnati's pitch to use hotel tax money for the stadium project and said the team should instead embrace the idea of playing games at Paul Brown Stadium on the riverfront.

If Paul Brown Stadium doesn't work, the county commissioners offered a plan B to use parking revenues to pay for a $15 million garage for FC Cincinnati.

FC Cincinnati General Manager Jeff Berding, in response, said a soccer-only stadium is critical if the club wants to join Major League Soccer.

"Paul Brown Stadium would not support an MLS team, and any suggestion to the contrary is wrong," Berding said in a statement released in the afternoon. "Therefore, Paul Brown Stadium simply does not work and does not result in a winning bid. It means a losing bid."

By evening, FCC released a revised and softened statement, with no mention of a "losing bid." Instead, in the later statement, Berding said he wanted to see how the county came to its conclusion that the riverfront stadium would work.

Commissioner Todd Portune said the Bengals' home stadium, which is paid for through a county-wide sales tax, makes sense as a home for FC Cincinnati and would be far less costly than building a new, soccer-only stadium.

"We believe Paul Brown Stadium can work," Portune said. "Paul Brown Stadium is our first option."

His fellow commissioner, Chris Monzel, was more blunt: "The county already owns two stadiums. We don't need any more stadiums."

More: What Hamilton County's verdict means for FC Cincinnati's MLS expansion hopes

More: Congress could complicate Cincinnati's FC Cincinnati soccer stadium debate with tax provision

Waiting on a call from MLS...

Whether the county's idea is enough to win FC Cincinnati a spot in Major League Soccer remains to be seen. The MLS bid process requires a soccer-specific stadium.

Team officials have pushed for up to $75 million in taxpayer help to build a $200 million stadium in Oakley, which they say is the price of admission to MLS.

Portune and the other commissioners hope they can convince MLS to relax its policy of soccer-only stadiums. He said he spoke to the assistant of MLS Commissioner Don Garber on Tuesday. He’s waiting to hear back.

“It’s also in the best interest of the league,” Portune said. “We have not had the opportunity to make that case.”

More: FC Cincinnati stadium: Your questions answered (hopefully)

More: Doc: FCC stadium skepticism is earned, but needs to be tempered

This doesn't mean FC Newport

The county's insistence on Paul Brown Stadium doesn't mean FC Cincinnati will put the stadium in Newport. Newport's Ovation site on the riverfront has been suggested as a possible alternative to Oakley.

The soccer club hasn't approached Newport, said City Manager Tom Fromme.

"Until they reach out and talk to us, there's not much to say," Fromme said. "We're under the impression they're leaning toward Oakley if they couldn't make Paul Brown work. We respect their decision."

FC Cincinnati's Jeff Berding has had one impromptu conversation with Fromme earlier this year at a presentation in Covington's Metropolitan Club. Fromme and Newport Mayor Jerry Peluso also went to an FC Cincinnati soccer game.

Portune said the county's proposal should keep FC Cincinnati in Cincinnati.

“There’s no reason for them to go to Newport,” Portune said. “We have made a commitment by the county at either Paul Brown or failing that in Oakley that addresses what they asked of the public.”

The Bengals, for their part, said they're staying out of the fight.

“This matter is between FC Cincinnati and Hamilton County," the team said in a statement. "The Bengals have not been involved in any discussions, therefore we have no further comment.”

More: Paul Daugherty: FC Cincinnati stadium deal won't get better than this

More: PX: Thanks, Lindners, but we don't owe you stadium funds

Plan B: Use parking funds for stadium site

The three Hamilton County commissioners did offer a Plan B to FC Cincinnati. If MLS rejects the proposal to play at Paul Brown Stadium, Portune said, the county would consider using some of its annual parking revenue to help pay for a parking garage for a stadium in Oakley.

It's unclear, though, how much money would be attached to that offer, or whether it would be enough for FC Cincinnati to make the Oakley location work. Commissioner Denise Driehaus said the county's Plan B offer could mean up to $15 million toward a stadium parking garage.

"We celebrate FC Cincinnati," Driehaus said. "We celebrate their success and we want to help them move forward."

More: FC Cincinnati stadium: 'Our bid to lose' says club owners, putting pressure on Hamilton County

More: How to interpret FC Cincinnati's stadium news

Plan B "didn't add up"

This plan received a tepid response from FC Cincinnati's Berding.

Berding said the numbers "didn't add up."

Berding, in a statement, said the next step is to sit down with both Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley and the county board of commissioners.

"Part of the conversation with the mayor and the county will be to ensure the county is clear on needed infrastructure costs," Berding said in a statement.

More: FC Cincinnati considered MLS expansion frontrunner

More: Jeff Berding in Houston hoping to win Cincinnati 2026 FIFA World Cup host city bid

What happens to the hotel tax?

The commissioners' announcement comes a day after FC Cincinnati General Manager Jeff Berding put pressure on the county to use as much as $75 million in hotel tax revenue to pay for the parking garage, roads and other infrastructure to support the stadium.

The county's hotel tax revenue, he said, has $2.8 million left over each year for "other projects," which could pay off the debt for the soccer stadium's infrastructure over about 30 years without raising taxes.

"This money is waiting to be used," Berding said.

Portune said that's not true. The money is needed for other projects, such as the convention center, he said.

"By virtue of the fact that they stepped up, they opened a door by which we can then walk with respect to addressing whether it made any sense at all to construct a new stadium," Portune said.

Other priorities

Before announcing their stance on the stadium Wednesday, county commissioners heard from some residents with other spending priorities. Two members of the Better Bus Coalition lamented that people don't realize the urgency in fixing the local bus system.

"The Metro plan keeps getting kicked down the road," said Isaac Smith, a University of Cincinnati law student and member of the coalition. "I wish we would use the sort of strength and vigor and immediacy about FC Cincinnati and use it toward Metro. I would like to see that as Hamilton County's biggest priority."